SSMC 2026 Conference Schedule
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo | July 6–9, 2026
Monday – July 6
Arrival & Welcome
5:00 – 7:00 PM
Welcome Mixer - Bonderson Student Projects Center 197-107
Tuesday – July 7
Safety & Professional Practice
7:30 – 9:00 AM
Breakfast & Registration
9:00 – 9:45 AM
Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:45 – 10:15 AM
Shop Ventilation & Respiratory Protection
Mitigating respiratory risk in shop and makerspace environments
10:15 – 10:45 AM
Risk & Safety Solutions in Academic Environments
10:45 – 11:00 AM
Break & Industry Networking
11:00 – 11:30 AM
Safety Training in Machining Lab Environments
11:30 – 11:45 AM
Lightning Poster Introductions
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM
Lunch, Posters & Industry Networking
12:45 – 2:00 PM
Keynote: Safety Isn’t Rules, It’s Culture
Alex McNamara
2:10 PM
Depart for Hearst Castle
3:00 – 5:00 PM
Hearst Castle Tour
6:00 – 8:00 PM
Santa Maria BBQ Banquet
Wednesday – July 8
Training, People & Practice
7:30 – 9:00 AM
Breakfast & Registration
9:00 – 9:45 AM
Training the Trainers
Cal Poly Student Shop Techs Panel
9:45 – 10:30 AM
Neurodivergence in Shop Environments
10:30 – 10:45 AM
Break & Industry Networking
10:45 – 11:05 AM
Board Candidate Introductions & Voting Opens
11:05 – 11:45 AM
Training at Scale: Managing Large Cohorts
11:45 AM – 12:00 PM
Industry Spotlight (Primary Sponsor)
12:00 – 1:00 PM
Lunch, Posters & Industry Networking
1:00 – 1:30 PM
Facility Tours: Orientation & Group Departures
1:30 – 4:30 PM
Facility Tours
4:30 – 5:00 PM
Tour Return & Informal Networking
Thursday – July 9
Systems, Strategy & the Future
7:30 – 9:00 AM
Breakfast & Registration
9:00 – 9:30 AM
Preventative Maintenance & Repair Tracking with Limble
9:30 – 10:00 AM
Using Airtable for Shop Management
10:00 – 10:30 AM
Tools in Practice: Industry Solutions for Academic Shops
10:30 – 10:45 AM
Break & Industry Networking
10:45 – 11:05 AM
New Board Member Announcements
11:05 – 11:20 AM
SSMC Website Launch
11:20 – 11:50 AM
Making Makerspace Value Visible: Journey Mapping as an Advocacy Tool
11:50 AM – 12:00 PM
Lunch & Learn Committee Update
12:00 – 1:00 PM
Lunch
1:00 – 1:45 PM
Facilitated Roundtable Discussions
1:45 – 2:30 PM
Closing Discussion: The Future of Academic Shops & SSMC