Join the MIT Industrial Liaison Program for a webinar at 11:00 AM EDT on the Future of Manufacturing with Dr. Elisabeth B. Reynolds, Executive Director of MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future, and Prof. Olivier de Weck, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems.
Manufacturing is fundamentally a technological enterprise, and the way we make things has been evolving in sync with advances in technology since the Industrial Revolution. Disruption can accelerate change, and there is good reason to believe that is happening (or will happen) as the world progresses through the current pandemic. In this webinar we’ll examine anticipated changes in the manufacturing enterprise both from the human perspective as well in the broader systems and operational contexts, drawing on several of the extensive studies published in recent years by MIT faculty and our industry partners.
Elisabeth Reynolds will share conclusions from the Task Force’s recent report and consider how current events might affect manufacturing work in the future. Olivier de Weck will review the PIE Study and discuss how the pandemic might affect the nature and timelines of the transitions the Commission anticipated. With each talk, you’ll have the opportunity for Q&A, so please join us for this insightful webinar.
Please register for the Zoom Webinar here. You can then join the webinar through the Zoom application on your computer or phone, within your Internet browser*, or by dialing in*. When accessing the webinar, you will be prompted to enter your name, email address, and other optional information. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the webinar. If you need further assistance, please consult the Zoom support instructions to join a webinar. *These options to connect offer fewer features with less forms of engagement. We recommend installing the Zoom application on your device for the best webinar experience.
Elisabeth Reynolds is a Partner in Unless, an investment firm focused on industrial transformation, and a Lecturer in the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning. She was Special Assistant to the President for Manufacturing and Economic Development at the National Economic Council until October, 2022. During her time at the White House, she helped lead the Administration’s work on supply chain challenges, national manufacturing strategy, regional economic development and the broader industrial policy agenda. Before working in the Biden Administration, Reynolds was the executive director of the MIT Industrial Performance Center and co-led, with Professors David Autor and David Mindell, the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future. In both roles, she worked on manufacturing-related issues including growing innovative firms to scale and technology adoption by small and large firms.
Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems Editor-in-Chief of the journal Systems Engineering Executive Director, MIT Production in the Innovation Economy (PIE) Study Co-Director, Center for Complex Engineering Systems at KACST and MIT Secretary and Treasurer, Council of Engineering Systems Universities (CESUN)
Prof. de Weck is an international leader in Systems Engineering research. He focuses on how complex man-made systems such as aircraft, spacecraft, automobiles, printers and critical infrastructures are designed, manufactured and operated and how they evolve over time. His main emphasis is on the strategic properties of these systems that have the potential to maximize lifecycle value. His group has developed quantitative methods and tools that explicitly consider manufacturability, flexibility, robustness, and sustainability among other characteristics. Significant results include the Adaptive Weighted Sum (AWS) method for resolving tradeoffs amongst competing objectives, the Delta-Design Structure Matrix (DDSM) for technology infusion analysis, Time-Expanded Decision Networks (TDN) and the SpaceNet and HabNet simulation environments. These methods have impacted complex systems in space exploration (NASA, JPL), oil and gas exploration (BP) as well as sophisticated electro-mechanical products (e.g. Xerox, Pratt & Whitney, GM, DARPA). He has authored two books and about 250 peer-reviewed papers to date. He is a Fellow of INCOSE and an Associate Fellow of AIAA. Since January 2013 he serves as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Systems Engineering. In 2006 he received the Frank E. Perkins Award for Excellence in Graduate Advising followed by the 2010 Marion MacDonald Award for Excellence in Mentoring and Advising and a 2012 AIAA Teaching Award. From 2008-2011 he served as Associate Director of the Engineering Systems Division (ESD) at MIT. From 2011 to 2013 he served as Executive Director of the MIT Production in the Innovation Economy (PIE) project.