Meeting Details

Meeting Scope

The purpose of the meeting is to bring together engineers, scientists, regulators, and clinicians from academia, industry, and government to present leading edge research on advancements in medical grade UHMWPE, PEEK, and the rapidly growing field of polymer implant additive manufacturing technology. In addition to UHMWPE and PEEK, the Combined Meeting will also broadly showcase point-of-care additive manufacturing of implantable polymers, and hopefully attract submissions from not only the entire PAEK family, but also from a broader range of 3D printable polymers such as EVA, PPSU, as well as bioresorbable polymers, such as polylactides and polycaprolactones.


Location & Venue

The 2026 conference will be held at Drexel University, located in the vibrant and historic city of Philadelphia, PA. The conference venue will accommodate scientific posters, technical exhibits, and relevant corporate exhibitions (especially for 3D printing). Virtual attendance options (with real time broadcasting) are also available.


Social Program

The organizers believe that collaborations flourish not only in the formal structure of a meeting but more often in informal social gatherings. To that end, we have organized a cocktail dinner on the evening of Wednesday, June 17th at the iconic Philly Reading Terminal Market - privately reserved for an exclusive evening of food, flavor, and local charm, away from the usual crowds.

The cost of the social program will be covered in the conference registration fee, and guest tickets maybe be available for purchase. There is no special dress code for the dinner.


Accommodations

Summer 2026 promises to be a busy and exciting time in Philadelphia, with events taking place for both the World Cup and the 250th anniversary of the United States. We highly recommend booking accommodations at one of Philly's many hotels or Airbnbs as early as possible. A very limited number of rooms will be available as part of a hotel room block at a Center City hotel.


2026 Organizing Committee

  • Pierangiola Bracco, Ph.D. (University of Turin)
  • Steve Kurtz, Ph.D. (Drexel University)
  • Hannah Spece, Ph.D. (Drexel University)
  • Francisco Medel, Ph.D. (University of Zaragoza)

2024 Final proceedings

The proceedings for the 2024 meeting can be downloaded here:

Proceedings

2022 Final Proceedings

The proceedings for the 2022 meeting can be downloaded here:

Proceedings

Additional proceedings from past International PEEK and UHMWPE Meetings can be viewed at the reference websites for PEEK and UHMWPE.