Workers with specialized skills in additive manufacturing, robotics programming, artificial intelligence and data science will work together to reshape the future of manufacturing, according to Purdue Polytechnic’s Nathan Hartman.

Soft actuators, components in mechanical devices that enable movement, are inspired by biological systems but can’t yet replicate the complexity of the human body. Purdue Polytechnic’s David Gonzalez Rodriguez is researching the creation of 3D-printed flexible structures that can function as soft actuators and sensors.

Purdue University’s Polytechnic Institute has teamed with leading technology and manufacturing corporations, including Rockwell Automation, Caterpillar, General Mills and Microsoft, to launch the Smart Manufacturing Industrial Infomatics program. Additional partners include the Foundry Educational Foundation, International Society of Automation and the US-DoE Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII).

Purdue University’s Polytechnic Institute is receiving support from major technology companies for the college's Smart Manufacturing program and facilities. Microsoft, Rockwell Automation, PTC, Endress+Hauser, Foundry Educational Foundation, International Society of Automation, and the US-DoE Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII) are collaborating to support the Polytechnic’s faculty and staff as they transform learning to prepare the next generation of graduates specializing in 21st-century manufacturing technologies.

Colin Tancredi, Wallingford, Penn.

Major: Manufacturing Engineering Technology

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