CEAS hosts Agile Manufacturing Conference on July 16 - 18

The 2008 International Conference on Agile Manufacturing is set for Wed., July 16, to Fri., July 18, at Western Michigan University’s Parkview Campus, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Sponsored by the International Society of Agile Manufacturers (ISAM), the conference will focus on the latest advances in agile manufacturing methods and business processes.

“This conference provides an excellent opportunity for industrial practitioners, academic researchers, and engineering and business graduate students to update their understanding of agile methods from the design, manufacture, and business process perspectives,” said Dr. Pavel Ikonomov, conference chair and assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering.

“This conference will encourage both academia and industry to get involved in the free exchange of ideas and to discuss the challenges of agile methodologies,” he said. “The conference will also encourage future collaboration among the members of these groups.”

Ikonomov is looking for “speakers, papers, and participants” in all areas of agile manufacturing. “I know that many with valuable experience do not like to write full papers,” he said. “For this conference, I want everyone to be fully involved.”

Dr. Pavel Ikonomov

According to Ikonomov, the conference will be preceded by a day of interactive workshops to allow delegates to get a deeper understanding of the fundamentals and recent significant advances in agile methodologies.

The conference begins with an opening reception and includes workshops, tutorials, panels, exhibits, technical sessions, and tours. Dinners and other social activities allow for informal networking. Sponsorship opportunities are available for industrial partners.

Topics for the conference include but are not limited to lean manufacturing, flexible manufacturing, rapid and functional full-scale prototyping, reverse engineering, concurrent engineering and PLM, quality assurance and six sigma, and reverse engineering verification and applications.

Other related topics of interest include agile business processes, supply chain management and development, new product development and design, and agility in remote production. Additional topics include empirical methods for assessing lean and agile processes, cross-disciplinary aspects of agility, agile software development, micro/nano manufac­turing, and research and applications in the automotive industry.

Those who are interested in making a presentation should contact Ikonomov as soon as possible, and preferably before Wed., June 25.

For more conference information, check out

http://www.wmich.edu/ime/icam2008/

Serving Hotdogs and Jobs at the 2nd Annual Co-op Cookout

CEAS students devoured more than 500 hotdogs during the 2^nd Annual Co-op Cookout, a three-hour opportunity for students, career advisers, and employers to meet informally.

Fred Sitkins, CEAS director of co-operative education, coordinated the event, held on the Parkview Campus front lawn. Post Battle Creek and Parker Aerospace donated the hotdogs and accompaniments respectively.

Sitkins attributed the cookout’s success to the “excellent support” provided by CEAS Career & Student Employment Services staff and administration, and to ASME, NSBE, Tau Beta Pi, and Theta Tau volunteers.

The picnic-style eating fest followed a “Co-op Spring Info Session” by Parker, which offered students an afternoon of information on the company and its employment opportunities. Similar information sessions had been offered by Post Battle Creek, Stryker, and Eaton Galesburg for the three weeks preceding the cookout.

Each week, one company spent one afternoon at the CEAS campus. The company’s representatives set up a table-top display in the Parkview lobby in the early afternoon, accepted resumes and met informally for a couple of hours with students.

Then, at about 4:30 p.m., company reps provided a two-hour presentation highlighting the company’s history, products, processes, innovations, goals, and employment expectations. The presentation ended with a Q and A session.

Sitkins said the weekly spring events had been so enthusiastically received that he plans to continue them this fall in a format similar to this spring’s. About 25 to 45 students are expected to attend each event.

“We’re encouraging business and industry reps to connect with engineering and technology students for potential internships, co-ops, and full-time employment,” Sitkins said.

Employers interested in learning more about the fall session program or in scheduling a fall information session should contact Sitkins at fred.sitkins@wmich.edu or Heather Highhouse, CEAS career advisor, at heather.highhouse@wmich.edu

 

CEAS Showcases Special Projects at First WMU Day

CEAS students, faculty, and administrators were among the roughly 800 who participated in the first WMU Day held in Lansing on the lawn of Michigan’s Capitol. All WMU colleges showcased projects on the lawn of Michigan’s Capitol in Lansing. Among the CEAS displays were a concrete canoe, a life-sized robot, a solar car, a Formula race car, a hydraulic bike and chair research.

 

Dr. Tarun Gupta, a professor in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME), and a team brought RoboBronco, a six-foot tall robot with a friendly horse face. Gupta mentored a robotic team of area high school students who call themselves the Quantum Ninjas, in the FIRST competition.

WMU’s Sunseeker solar car team, with advisors Abraham Poot and John Kapenga, brought its 2005 entry for up-close examination. The team is preparing its current entry for next month’s 2008 North American Solar Challenge (NASC), a biennial, cross-country, international, intercollegiate 2,400-mile race from Dallas, Texas, to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Sunseeker is designed and built by students from all academic disciplines.

The Bronco entourage was welcomed by several area legislators, including Rep. Lorence Wenke, who praised the WMU supporters for what he described as a unique and “impressive” presentation.