GTMI Celebrates its 30th Anniversary
Oct 29, 2021 — Atlanta, GA
GTMI 30th Anniversary Celebration
On October 28, 2021, the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI) celebrated its 30th anniversary. The celebration event opened with a warm welcome from Ben Wang, executive director of GTMI, and concluded with GTMI’s annual distinguished lecture presented by Naveed Hussain, chief technology officer, vice president and general manager of Boeing research and technology.
Wang is the Eugene C. Gwaltney Jr. Chair in Manufacturing Systems, professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech.
Wang became the executive director of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Research Center in January, 2012. Wang replaced Steven Danyluk, professor emeritus and Morris M. Bryan, Jr. Chair in Mechanical Engineering for Advanced Manufacturing Systems. Danyluk started his tenure as the director of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Research Center in 1995.
At the 30th anniversary, Wang recalled the creation of Georgia Tech’s manufacturing center as a great example of a public-private partnership that started in 1991 when Georgia Tech, the Department of Defense, AT&T, Ford, Intel and Motorola helped to create a world-class research organization that started life known as the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Research Center who later became the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute.
At the event, Wang stressed the need for building a strong manufacturing base in the United States. “Technology-based innovation is the dominant driver of economic growth in the 21st century,” said Wang. “Our national security, high standard of living, and the rebuilding of the middle class all depend on a maintaining a strong manufacturing base.”
During his introductory remarks, Wang presented a short GTMI 30th anniversary video which can be viewed here.
When Wang became the executive director, his vision focused on what he called big “M” manufacturing. According to Wang, this included not only the creation of new materials, advanced composites, and biomaterials, but also included manufacturing processes as well as factory automation. It also incorporates supply chain management and enterprise transformation. Materials and manufacturing complement each other according to Wang. He emphasized manufacturing adds value and transforms raw materials into products we use daily.
The 30th anniversary event briefly highlighted the research being done in GTMI’s Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility (AMPF). Both Boeing and Delta Airlines have made significant investments to be part of AMPF. This innovative facility allows faculty, students, and industry partners to work with emerging technologies to research new ideas and solve industry problems, and the facility is designed to be flexible with the ability to evolve as new technologies become available.
An introduction to the AMPF facility can be viewed here.
Capping off the 30th celebration event was GTMI’s annual distinguished lecture which was delivered by Naveed Hussain, chief technology officer, vice president and general manager of Boeing research and technology. Hussain presented an overview of the Boeing company, emphasized the value of the Georgia Tech-Boeing partnership, and discussed the future of manufacturing at Boeing.
A full recording of GTMI’s 30th anniversary event, a more in-depth look at AMPF, and the distinguished lecture delivered by Naveed Hussain can be found here.
Speakers during the 30th anniversary AMPF presentations included: Christopher Saldana, Ring Family Professor and associate professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering; Andrew Dugenske, director of the Factory Information Systems Center and principal research engineer at GTMI; Shreyes Melkote, who holds the Morris M. Bryan, Jr. Professorship in Mechanical Engineering and is the associate director of GTMI; Chuck Zhang, Harold E. Smalley Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering; and George White, interim vice president in the Office of Industry Collaboration at Georgia Tech.
The 30th anniversary event was organized by Paige Shee, strategic partners officer in GTMI.
