Shane Avenius, a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York, has long been interested in lighthouses and 3D printing. This summer he interned at Formlabs, one of the world’s largest 3D printer manufacturers. After visiting Highland Lighthouse on Cape Cod and seeing a fourth-order lens in the museum there, he got the Idea of making a replica lens. He has now completed two sixth-order lenses and several smaller lenses.
Here is the video of the live chat on September 1, 2026:
U.S. Lighthouse Society Historian Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of 24 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is a past president of the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and he has lectured and narrated cruises throughout the Northeast and in other regions. He is also the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s weekly podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org