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Biography
Marco Leite received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering through the MIT-Portugal Program. Over the past decade, he has developed extensive teaching and research activities in the areas of product design and development, rapid prototyping, additive manufacturing, and technology evaluation and selection.
In 2017, he founded and currently leads Lab2ProD, the Laboratory for Product Development at Instituto Superior Técnico, a research and development laboratory focused on engineering design, product innovation, prototyping technologies, and additive manufacturing.
He has authored more than 80 scientific publications in international journals and conference proceedings and is the co-inventor of five patents. His work bridges academia and industry, with interests spanning product development methodologies, design engineering, manufacturing technologies, and technology assessment.
Beyond academia, he is co-founder of FABINVENTORS, a technology-based startup dedicated to the large-scale additive manufacturing of polymer components. At Instituto Superior Técnico, he currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Product Design and Development, Engineering Design, and Additive Manufacturing.
Research Interests
My research focuses on engineering design and product development methodologies, with particular emphasis on the early stages of the product development process, design decision-making, and the integration of emerging manufacturing technologies into industrial practice.
Current research activities include additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping, design methods, technology evaluation and selection, digital product development, and design for manufacturing. Particular attention is given to the application of design methodologies that support innovation, reduce product development risk, and accelerate the transition from concept to market.
Through Lab2ProD, research is conducted at the intersection of academic knowledge and industrial needs, addressing challenges related to product innovation, engineering design education, manufacturing processes, and the development of sustainable and competitive products.
Teaching
- Mechanical Design and Product Development
- Product Development and Entrepreneurship
- Additive Manufacturing Techniques
My courses are available on Fénix System .
Lab2ProD – Laboratory for Product Development
Lab2ProD, the Laboratory for Product Development, was founded in 2017 at Instituto Superior Técnico to support education, research, and industrial collaboration in engineering design, product development, prototyping, and additive manufacturing.
The laboratory provides an environment where students, researchers, and industrial partners can transform ideas into functional prototypes through the integration of design methodologies, digital engineering tools, and advanced manufacturing technologies. Lab2ProD combines research on product development processes with practical experimentation, enabling the rapid validation of concepts and the development of innovative products.
Research activities focus on product design and development methodologies, additive manufacturing processes, rapid prototyping, technology evaluation and selection, design for manufacturing, and digital product development. Particular emphasis is given to understanding how emerging technologies can be effectively integrated into product development processes to increase innovation and reduce development time and risk.
Lab2ProD supports undergraduate, master's, and doctoral projects while fostering collaboration with industrial partners through applied research, prototype development, and technology transfer initiatives. The laboratory also plays a central role in the teaching of engineering design and product development courses at Instituto Superior Técnico, providing students with hands-on experience in contemporary design and manufacturing technologies.