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Brennon T. Morioka, PhD, PE
Dean – College of Engineering | University of Hawai`i at MānoaWe are pleased to announce an opening keynote speech for this year’s conference from our local partner university. Brennon T. Morionka is Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa. He will welcome the conference participants to an exciting conference and set the mood for an interesting exchange with numerous national and international researchers.
Prof. Dr. Harm-Jan Steenhuis
Professor of Management and International Business | Hawaii Pacific UniversityThis keynote speech explores the business landscape of additive manufacturing and its role as a cornerstone of the 4th Industrial Revolution. 3D printing technologies are revolutionizing industries by offering unprecedented flexibility, efficiency, and innovation in production processes. Attendees will gain insights into the vast applications of additive manufacturing across sectors and understand the transformative shifts in business models that are accommodating this rapid technological advancement. This presentation is essential for anyone looking to comprehend the full spectrum of implications additive manufacturing has on the future of global business and industry.
Prof. Olga Battaïa
Professor at the Department of Operations Management and Information Systems & Associate Dean for Research | KEDGE Business SchoolThis keynote investigates and analyses sustainable value chains in the nickel production. Nickel is crucial for the global transition to renewable energy sources as battery-grade nickel contributes to the development and scalability of the electric vehicle (EV) industry. At the same time, the nickel industry faces several significant environmental and social challenges, such as inefficiency in resource use including overconsumption of energy and water, and minimal community engagement. These challenges must be urgently addressed to achieve sustainable solutions, particularly as the EV industry and other battery users grow to meet global demand. This keynote will give insights into solutions for mitigating adverse environmental and social impacts.
Prof. I.S. Jawahir
Professor of Mechanical Engineering, James F. Hardymon Chair in Manufacturing Systems, and Founding Director of Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing | University of KentuckyThis keynote will focus on circular product design driven by the CE targets in manufacturing. Current sustainable manufacturing principles and practices will be summarized with an emphasis on achieving product circularity as the first necessary step towards process and system innovation for advancing SM. Product circularity will be presented as a quantifiable activity involving a metrics-based evaluation method. Recent progress in product circularity studies and development of standards and industry practice guidelines will also be presented.
The Hawaii Rise Foundation’s mission is to create opportunities for vulnerable, or moderate and low-income families, children and elderly by providing educational services, programs and support.
Simon Voss, M.Sc.
Managing Director E-Mobility Lab of RWTH Aachen University & Head of E-Mobility Office of RWTH Aachen UniversityThe current dynamics of e-mobility innovation are without example; technological challenges meet promising potential with a market craving for solutions. Hence, time to market is the critical key enabler to commercial success. For this, the driving forces are fast transitions of innovation from the laboratory environment into industrial operation. Systematization of this “Innovation Chain” offers decisive advantages, here showcased for the innovation of battery production technologies.
Sebastian Thiede, Prof. Dr.-Ing.
Full Professor, Chair Of Manufacturing Systems at University of TwenteTechnological advancements over the last decades lead to significant changes in the design and operation of manufacturing systems and those developments are likely to continue in the future. The introduction of advanced manufacturing approaches such as flexible (matrix) manufacturing systems, additive manufacturing, stronger robotization/automation as well as the introduction of digital support solutions certainly incorporate promising potentials in terms of productivity and flexibility. But the question remains to which extend those approaches can also contribute to an improved sustainability of manufacturing systems – are there inherent advantages or also potentially challenges and conflicts of goals?
Sekhar Rakurty, PhD
The M. K. Morse CompanyDue to the current growth rate of the world’s consumption and supply chain challenges, developing and implementing a sustainable manufacturing process is essential. The US Environmental Protection Agency states, “A sustainable manufacturing process makes products using methods that reduce environmental impacts while concurrently conserving energy and natural resources.” Sustainable manufacturing process implementation in small and medium size industries has been challenging and met with limited success. This presentation will focus on implementing the principles of the sustainable manufacturing process, such as the 6Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recovery, Redesign, and Remanufacture) in a (small/medium scale) cutting tool company. The presentation will focus on case studies such as reducing cutting fluid usage, improving manufacturing efficiency through automation, recycling cemented carbide, revamping the manufacturing process to reduce the supply chain impact, etc. Through academic and industrial collaboration, the presentation will propose a roadmap for sustainable manufacturing processes for small and medium size industries.
Love to Give is a charity based in Kayamandi, Stellenbosch. The charities mission is to ove Families and Children to financial autonomy and food security and Empower children to having a better chance at succeeding in life.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Volker Stich
Managing Director of FIR at RWTH Aachen & Director of Cluster Smart LogisticDigitalization has started to change our lifes, behaviours, ways of communication and social interactions. Sometimes we are aware of these changes, sometimes not, because it is a gradual process, but with exponentional speed. The presentation tries to highlight, what has happenend already and what could be the future of „New Normal“
Professor I. S. Jawahir, Ph.D.
Professor and James F. Hardymon Chair in Manufacturing Systems & Director of Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing at University of KentuckyNew opportunities for sustainable value creation in all involved technological elements of Circular Economy (CE) through Sustainable Manufacturing (SM) principles will be presented. A systematic metrics-based approach for new product/process development for sustainable manufacturing including the 6Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Redesign and Remanufacture) with closed-loop total life cycle (Pre-manufacturing, Manufacturing, Use and Post-use) considerations to facilitate SM will be presented. Sustainable value creation in closed-loop SM will be shown as the basis for achieving and advancing CE, with digital technologies to serve all stakeholders (manufacturers, users, and the society at large).
Hardly any other question is currently occupying corporate executives more than the question of how you can lead your company into a completely new future against the backdrop of globally recognized climate targets and the potentials of digital transformation. The associated challenges summarized under the title of so-called twin Transition are occupying companies with the highest intensity and at a rapid pace. While some companies are achieving trailblazer status, others are finding it difficult to change and therefore lag behind. Digitization is considered a key factor in this context: It can be used to develop data-based, new business models and thus reshape entire value chains – and this will make it possible to realize concepts such as the circular economy. Digital leaders play a pivotal role in this transition because they can increase the confidence of their organizations behind often risky and disruptive initiatives needed to achieve the change. Thus, building trust in the entire organization is becoming a key element. Before this background, it is not enough to adapt existing leadership concepts; a completely new understanding of leadership must be implemented in many areas. We present the practice of digitally developing and digitally mature organizations―particularly those of their leaders, and we present specific trust-building actions of leaders. In addition, we present results from our international study with leaders of successful companies and show what new leadership qualities are driving their success in this highly transformative process we are all in. Speakers: Dr. Gerhard Gudergan, FIR at RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany Dr. Haroon Abbu, Business Analytics Initiative, Poole College of Management, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA Prof. Paul Mugge, Business Analytics Initiative, Poole College of Management, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, US
Renowned representatives of the research and business sector will discuss how the gap between science and industry in production engineering can be closed and how we can contribute.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Metternich
Head of the Institute of Production Management, Technology and Machine Tools, Technical University of DarmstadtThe keynote will give an overview of high-performance value streams and how individuality is made possible without adaptation effort. The main topics will be the integration of the customer into the value stream and the enabling of value streams for the entire solution space.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rüdiger Daub
Head of the chair of Production Technology and Energy Storage Systems, Technical University of Munich and head of Fraunhofer Institute for Foundry, Composites and Processing Technology IGCVThe shift towards electric cars and the rapidly increasing demand for battery cells pose major challenges for manufacturing technology. The keynote will show how the use of methods like artificial intelligence and data analytics can be used to increase traceability, quality and productivity in battery production. It will also highlight how the introduction of new materials and solid-state batteries will impact production systems.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Friedli
Professor of Production Management and Director at the Institute of Technology Management, University of St. GallenFor decades the most admired examples when it came to manufacturing stemmed from the automotive industry. Companies like Toyota or later Porsche and Audi became role models for the implementation of lean. However, more recently lean deteriorated in dozens of companies to mere tool boxes neither really engrained in the culture nor in the structure and also the bottom line contribution to success can hardly be identified and described. The future will see a revival of once intuitively understood principles but now scientifically derived and fully integrated. The speech will highlight this development based on data and practical examples.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is the country’s unifying force for nature, working to deliver large-scale, permanent land conservation. With nature we are building a thriving world.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Volker Stich
Managing Director of FIR at RWTH Aachen & Director of Cluster Smart LogisticDigitalization is one of the most important topics for each company in future. Data is becoming a core business asset and must be included as a critical resource in any strategic consideration. The presentation will show, what companies have to do now in order to prepare and develop in the direction of a data driven enterprise, what hurdles must be overcome and if this digitalization-journey is the same for every company.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernd Kuhlenkötter
Director Chair of Production Systems (LPS) and Director Center of the Engineering of Smart Product Service Systems, Ruhr University BochumThe keynote will give an overview of technological developments and how they will effect the management and organization of production processes. For example robotic based automation, mobile robotics, additive manufacturing and 5G and their influences on the production of the future will be addressed.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Bauernhansl
Director Institute of Industrial Manufacturing and Management (IFF), University of StuttgartThe biological transformation of value creation is the systematic application of knowledge about biological processes with the aim of enabling technology-based sustainable production systems. Through the transdisciplinary convergence of technologies from the life sciences, engineering and materials sciences, this creates a new innovation space based on so-called biointelligent system architectures.
The #TOGETHERBAND initiative is working towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) created by the United Nations to achieve a more sustainable world by 2030. Supporters receive a wrist band from recycled plastics taken from the ocean.
Love to Give is a charity based in Kayamandi, Stellenbosch. The charities mission is to ove Families and Children to financial autonomy and food security and Empower children to having a better chance at succeeding in life.