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our vision

Providing Innovative and Sustainable Solutions

Empower U.S. manufacturers to increase their resiliency and international competitiveness by successfully adopting privacy-preserving, scalable, certify-as-build AI/ML practices.

We seek to narrow the digital-divide and create economies-of-scale through networks.

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Manufacturers in our network
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Highly Specialised Researchers
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Partnering universities

Meet Our Dedicated Team Members Supporting Our Manufacturers

PURDUE UNIVERSITY

Ali Shakouri

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Ali Shakouri, an Electrical and Computer Engineering professor, coordinates the work of university researchers by focusing on practical use cases and scalable tools to meet the current and future challenges of manufacturers

 

Ted Fliock

Managing Director of ManuFutureToday

Ted Fliock, managing director of ManuFuture, puts his 40-year career in manufacturing to work helping researchers understand the practical challenges that manufacturers face. Working closely with Ali Shakouri, he serves as a productive bridge between research in advanced technologies and practical applications on the factory floor.

Muhammad Ashraful Alam, Jai N. Gupta

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Muhammad Ashraful Alam is a professor of electrical and computer engineering. He is focusing on physics-based statistical and machine learning techniques to obtain reliable data with low-cost sensors in harsh manufacturing environment.

 

Martin Jun

Associate Professor of  Mechanical Engineering

Martin Jun is a professor of mechanical engineering working with manufacturers on industrial internet of things (IIoT) devices and systems for improving their operations.

 

Jan Allebach

Hewlett-Packard Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Jan Allebach is a professor of electrical and computer engineering using advanced image processing and analytics technics for manufacturing quality control.

Kazuaki Yazawa

Research Professor of Birck Nanotechnology Center

Kazuaki Yazawa is working closely with small and medium-sizemanufacturers on IoT data analytics and physics-based modeling of production processes to predict KPIs. Mechanical engineering and heat transfer are his areas of expertise, and he has extensive experience in product and devicedevelopment in the electronics industry.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Latanya Sweeney

Professor of the Practice of Government and Technology at the Harvard Kennedy School,  and Director and Founder of the Data Privacy Lab in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Latanya Sweeney guides ManuFuture in developing technologies and policies for preserving data privacy and data security.

 

Vijay Janapa Reddi

Associate Professor in the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Vijay Janapal Reddi provides ManuFuture with expertise in edge analytics developing low-cost tiny machine learning solutions for real-time decision making.

TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY

Firas Akasheh

Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Firas Akasheh is a professor of Mechanical Engineering working closely with students in testing and implementing digital manufacturing solutions.  

 

Mandoye Ndoye

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Mandoye Ndoye is a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering using data analytic technics to help improve manufacturing operations.

Ivy Tech Community College

Jonathan Mohn

Instructor, School of Advanced Manufacturing, Engineering, Applied Sciences

Jonathan Mohn teaches advanced manufacturing courses and develops hands-on workshops for workforce training.

Bryce Eaton

Program Chair of Smart Manufacturing and Digital Integration

Bryce Eaton oversees several programs in manufacturing, automation and industrial technology. He is helping to bridge with the curriculum at Ivy Tech with the latest advances in the research with manufacturers.

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ManuFutureToday

The ManuFutureToday network emerged from several years of manufacturing engagement activities by the Purdue team.

WHIN is funded.
The Lilly Endowment funded the Wabash Heartland Innovation Network (WHIN). The grant’s focus is the encourage the adoption of IoT across the 10-county area around Purdue University. The Purdue faculty team and Purdue students started working with several dozen manufacturers in the region. Working directly with manufacturers on their digital challenges provided the foundation for ManuFutureToday
September 2021
Manufacturing Network Meeting
This half day workshop informed local manufacturers about our research activities. Through breakout groups, we identified initial workstreams where manufacturing cohorts could start working together on their digital transformation. Fifty manufacturing professionals attended.
August 1,2023
The Business Case for Digital Transformation and Launch of the ManuFuture Today Network
Half-day workshop to address two critical dimensions of digital transformation: Making the business case (CEO perspective) and where to start (the operational perspective). Official launch of ManuFutureToday network.
Fall 2017
National Science Foundation Future Manufacturing Project funded
This 4 year $3 million project expanded the Purdue team's collaboration with Harvard, Tuskegee and Ivy Tech Community College. The focus of this project involves developing a privacy-preserving AI commons for the manufacturing community. This type of digital commons will provide smaller manufacturers with the benefits of scale by building trusted networks.
June 23, 2022
Manufacturing Network Meeting
This half day workshop updated attendees with four presentations from local manufacturers about the digital transformation work they are doing with Purdue and partner universities. With small focus group discussions, we built the foundation for the ManuFutureToday network. Seventy-five manufacturing professionals attended this meeting. Some of the key lessons are summarized in the Harvard Business Review article by Willy Shih and Ali Shakouri on 21 September 2023.
HBR Article
December 14, 2023