Manufacturing @ MIT: 2022 and Beyond

On May 6, we will discuss the trajectory of manufacturing - technology, workforce, policy, and entrepreneurship - and MIT's potential impact.  The Manufacturing at MIT symposium will bring faculty, students and industry and government leaders together to discuss manufacturing technology, social science research, education and workforce initiatives, policy, entrepreneurship.

Over many decades, MIT faculty and researchers have made tremendous contributions to manufacturing technology in areas like CNC machining, 3D printing, and production of pharmaceuticals, as well as on the policy front, with path-breaking studies including Made in America and Production in the Innovation Economy.

By embracing new technologies and a new mindset, manufacturing can play a key role in strengthening our economy, reducing carbon emissions, and improving economic mobility and workforce diversity. Investments in digital production, robotics, photonics, and other advanced technologies will transform products and factory floors, improving performance and sustainability and creating new, well-paying jobs. Many manufacturers operate on paper-thin margins, and workers turn away from jobs they associate with America’s rust-belt decline. Therefore, we must chart a path toward a new, technologically driven, agile, and resilient advanced manufacturing future.

Moreover, with recent lessons about the fragility of our manufacturing supply chains, the federal government is more focused on America’s manufacturing future than it has been in decades. Several top universities have established manufacturing centers to be part of the solution. They are pulling in engineers along with political scientists, economists, and workforce experts, and building deep partnerships with industry and the public sector.

We are excited to invite you Friday May 6, to a symposium that brings together the many people across the institute who care deeply about manufacturing. We will ask what the future might be, and how MIT can make the strongest impact. Please spread the word to your colleagues, students, and research staff.

Please register no later than Friday, April 29, 2022. Lunch and refreshments will be served.