VRC Metal Systems CTO and co-founder named Entrepreneur of the Year

Gov. Dennis Daugaard (left) and Christian Widener, South Dakota Entrepreneur of the Year.

Christian Widener, PhD, CTO and co-founder of VRC Metal Systems and associate professor at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2018 South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) annual conference.

Widener also serves as director of the Arbegast Materials and Processing (AMP) Laboratory, a research facility for advanced metals processing, joining, cladding, and other materials development applications. Widener has led the technology development for seven patent applications and co-authored more than 60 publications since joining SD Mines in 2010, covering topics in friction stir welding, cold spray, advanced manufacturing, and nanomaterials.