Manufacturing is integral to the economies of France and the United States, and job creation in this sector is on the rise in both countries. It is essential to cultivate strategic partnerships with researchers across the globe if we are to create jobs, solve industrial challenges and grow as leaders in manufacturing innovation.
As the hub for manufacturing innovation in the Southeast, it was only natural Georgia Tech was instrumental in organizing the Scientific Symposium on the Future of Manufacturing as part of France-Atlanta 2015.
France-Atlanta is an annual series of events focused on scientific, business, cultural and humanitarian issues, with the mission of strengthening relations by fostering cooperation between the Southeast and France. Now in its sixth year, it is organized by Tech and the Consulate General of France in Atlanta.
The symposium, held in October at the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute, included speakers and participants covering all facets of manufacturing in France and the U.S. The objective: Pose questions and address the demands and challenges faced by French and American industries while exploring opportunities for future collaboration.
Sessions addressed five major challenges affecting manufacturing across the globe:
• Economic and environmental sustainability: It is imperative we operate in ways that minimize the impact on the environment, create safe and attractive workplaces, and maximize profits so our economies grow and prosper.
• New materials for smart and customized products: In the quest to create products that are more reliable and easier to manufacture, scientists have discovered ways to miniaturize components and create new, stronger and lighter materials. Companies must rethink and retool nearly everything they do because of the changing nature of manufacturing and the materials we use.
• The robot and the human: Manufacturers have long used robots, but what we need to look at now is how these robots can interact with human co-workers to improve efficiency and product quality.
• The digital factory: The "Internet of Things" is today's hot buzzword, but for manufacturing to make substantial progress, we must harness the power of connectivity and automation. Having continual access to data about operations, accuracy, speed, inputs and outputs is critical to efficiently manufacturing products within the factory and outside with suppliers and customers.
• Education and workforce development: Technological advances in manufacturing demand a highly skilled workforce. Science, technology, engineering and math need to be integrated into our education system earlier and more effectively as well as throughout the professional life of the workforce. If we are to remain globally competitive, we need more young people to study these fields.
Our takeaways from the symposium were that manufacturing is key to our nation’s economic security; manufacturing innovation is more important than ever, and the Southeast is emerging as the center of advanced manufacturing in the United States.
Symposium participants agreed to put together a task force to ensure our institutions’ offerings are aligned with industry interests and to work toward launching joint research and educational projects in 2016. We are certain our collaboration with France will continue to grow and generate research and innovation to address the manufacturing challenges of the future.
Ben Wang is executive director of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute. Yves Berthelot is Georgia Tech’s vice provost for international initiatives.
About the Author
