Purdue launches eXcellence in Manufacturing and Operations Initiative

West Lafayette, IN – Purdue University’s recently launched eXcellence in Manufacturing and Operations Purdue Engineering Initiative, or XMO PEI, will in November host its first national summit, bringing together a dynamic coalition of partners in academia, government and industry to discuss building resilient U.S. infrastructure for and with advanced manufacturing and operations (M&O). The aim is to build a resilient U.S. infrastructure physically, digitally and sustainably for M&O at scale.

The summit, which will be held at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 7, will focus on three key pillars of America’s resilience in manufacturing and operations: reshoring, retooling and retraining manufacturing and operations. Registration information is available online.

XMO PEI leaders say bolstering industries, such as aerospace, defense, semiconductors, agriculture, transportation and biomanufacturing for health care, is critical to America’s security, commerce, social durability and well-being in the era of globalization.

Discussions will examine why U.S. companies are compelled to bring major elements of their manufacturing back to the U.S.; how new major investments in physical, digital and sustainable technologies and their rapid translations by engineering and business are necessary to build resiliency; and what role the educational spectrum will take to develop a diverse and integrative workforce in support of a second U.S. manufacturing and operations renaissance.
Among the speakers scheduled to attend: Victoria Coleman, chief scientist, U.S. Air Force; Colin Parris, senior vice president and chief technology officer, GE Digital; Daniel Janka, president, Mazak Corp.; Rick Barto, Corporate Engineering and Technology Fellow, Lockheed Martin Corp.; Mike Molnar, founding director, National Institute of Standards and Technology Office of Advanced Manufacturing; Brent Yeagy, president and CEO, Wabash; and U.S. Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, who co-authored the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.