Dr. Rafael Guerra Silva earned, from the Universidad Central de Venezuela, a BSc in Mechanical Engineering (2001) and an MSc in Major (2004). He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the TU Dresden in 2013. Dr. Silva joined the Industrial Technology and Packaging Area in the Orfalea College of Business in September 2022 as an Assistant Professor, following nearly four years at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso and five years at the Universidad Central de Venezuela. He is also a mechanical engineer with experience in computational modeling and manufacturing. His recent research has been focused on the mechanics of additively manufactured metamaterials. His current research interests include industrial automation, smart manufacturing, and learning factories.