Live Lab

Dr. Christopher Saldaña is the Ring Family Professor and an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech. He is an expert on materials processing and nondestructive evaluation with 15 years of experience in the precision manufacturing sector and a focus on multi-scale materials and metrology characterization for supporting new product development and realization of next-generation manufacturing processes. Chris' current work is focused on process qualification and process design tools for hybrid additive/subtractive manufacturing and AI-enabled manufacturing, as well as deployment of mixed reality technologies for manufacturing and manufacturing education.

Wei Wen Ng is the Regional Director, Americas, based in the Singapore Economic Development Board's (EDB) New York office. He works closely with top American and Canadian companies in the aerospace, semiconductor, and chemicals industries to capture opportunities in Asia through Singapore.

Prior to this, Wei Wen held the position of Senior Lead in the Strategy (Advanced Manufacturing) division. He was responsible for designing and executing national-level strategies to grow Singapore's manufacturing ecosystem, develop tools such as the Smart Industry Readiness Index© and work with manufacturing companies to adopt Industry 4.0 solutions.

Wei Wen also held roles in EDB's Energy & Chemicals (E&C) sector and oversaw major investments from multinational energy and petrochemical companies. He led the development of the sector's Industry Transformation Map, a national roadmap to enhance and expand Singapore's E&C industry.

Wei Wen graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, and Imperial College London with a Master of Science in Management.

Dan Bagley, the CEO, chief architect, and inventor of Athena is a tenured, global technology growth executive with experience in more than 70 countries. His body of work includes development and application of advanced materials, hydraulics, cutting tools, and engineered software. He has three patents, and several pending for clients for hard material application in metal cutting, friction materials, and operator assistance software. Dan is the founder of B&B Management Labs, LLC and former chairman of Cepstral Voice Technologies.

Dan is a veteran U.S. Navy Nuclear Power instructor, serving aboard fast attack submarines and nuclear prototype facilities. He has held Vice President of Sales and/or Marketing Positions with General Signal Pump Group, Bosch Fluid Power, and Sophus Berendsen USA. He was CEO of Unimerco USA, Chief Marketing Officer for Kennametal, and a Director in the Deloitte Consulting Manufacturing practice, based in Chicago. Dan is active in the National Fluid Power Association, AMT, and the Power Transmission Distributors Association, among others.

Bill Fienup, VP of Innovation Services and Co-Founder of mHUB Chicaco, is an entrepreneur focused on delivering new product innovation to clients seeking better solutions.

With experience ranging from researching fusion energy at Los Alamos National Laboratory to designing toys for Hasbro, Bill began his career as a product development consultant for IDEO and Insight Product Development. After seven years of innovation consulting, he became an entrepreneur and launched several product base businesses. After experiencing several challenges launching hardware startups, Bill founded Catalyze Chicago to provide entrepreneurs with the tools, resources, mentorship, and manufacturing networks needed to successfully develop products and launch new business.

Bill hold 12 patents, with more pending. He was named to Crain's Chicago Business 40 Under 40 in 2019 and has been featured in Newcity's Design 50: Who Shapes Chicago 2019.

Vince DiFatta, Director of Innovation for Marmon Group, has managed both projects and engineers in local and across global locations, learning not only the skill sets of each individual engineer and customer, but culture influences that allow the right team to be pulled together for success. He has a strong electrical engineering background that cross both the hardware and software development branches. Vince has a strong customer focus and constantly challenges engineers to look at end products from that view. He has worked across a variety of fields in which design, cost, and time to market balances were varied and with different focus.

Dr. Charles Brandt is the ARM Institute's Vice President, Technical Initiatives. He leads the ARM Institute's technical strategy and program planning, manages the ARM Institute program management office, and leads the Mill 19 robotic engineering plans and investment strategy.

Chuck joined the ARM Institute in 2018 from Innovation Works, where he was the Vice President of Technology Programs. Prior to joining Innovation Works, he was the CTO at the Technology Collaborative, both Pittsburgh-based organizations. In these and prior roles at Northrop Grumman, Westinghouse, and Raytheon, he has showcased his ability to coordinate technology initiatives, early stage product development, and university-based commercialization.

Chuck holds a PhD in Electronic Materials from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Illinois. He has presented more than 50 papers and holds six patents.

As the workforce director for IACMI – The Composites Institute, Joannie Harmon brings a unique perspective when consulting with organizations about talent development challenges and opportunities. With over 20 of experience working with government, non-profit organizations, and corporations on strategies to address critical skills gaps, talent pipeline shortages, and long-term talent cultivation necessary for sustainability, she brings an expertise of consultative collaboration, a network of subject matter experts, and a pioneering spirit to explore unconventional approaches to complex problems.

Under Joannie's leadership, IACMI has built a reputation as a leader in training experiences in composites and advanced manufacturing. Established by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2015, IACMI has trained more than 2,000 people across the U.S. in advanced composites, engaged 9,000-plus K-12 students in composites training and STEM outreach, and served more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students through the IACMI Internship Program.

Prior to IACMI, Joannie worked with Fortune 500 companies to develop training programs with global reach. She has also managed a $4.8 million Department of Labor grant awarded to a community college to increase capabilities and build capacity in Advanced Manufacturing, Machining, and Welding programs. She received her Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management and a Master of Public Administration from Bellevue University in Nebraska.

Dr. Magdi Azer is the Chief Technology Officer of the REMADE Institute, where he oversees inter-node and Institute-wide collaboration in the development of new technologies.

With 20 years of experience in technical and business management, he spent much of his career forging innovation and collaboration at General Electric. As a program and business development manager, he worked to coordinate diverse teams of experts in manufacturing, software, and product development in building new pathways for technical collaboration and commercialization.

Magdi was instrumental in GE's involvement in other Manufacturing USA network initiatives, securing over $7M in total funding for efforts in technology research, scale-up program development, and full-scale deployment. Shortly prior to joining the REMADE Institute, he began serving as the Associate Director for Manufacturing Science in the Applied Research Institute (ARI) at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Magdi holds a BS (Kansas State University), MS, and PhD (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), all in Mechanical Engineering.

Maureen K. Toohey is the Deputy Executive Director for ARMI and serves as Secretary of the Board where she manages all facets of building an entirely new sector through an industry, government and academic collaboration accelerating the deployment of emerging large-scale manufacturing of engineered tissues and tissue-related technologies. Drawing from her past experiences as an entrepreneur, intellectual property expert, and new business development professional, Maureen brings a unique perspective to ARMI's efforts to foster innovation, encourage collaboration, and drive economic growth.

She is the founding member of the Toohey Law Group LLC where she counsels clients regarding the strategic protection and transfer of intellectual property rights, supervises the prosecution of intellectual property portfolios, and litigates intellectual property disputes. Prior to founding the Toohey Law Group in 2007, Maureen served as General Counsel for DEKA Research & Development Corporation. She also practiced in the Silicon Valley Office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

Maureen received a B.S. in Chemistry from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD. After serving on active duty in the United States Navy, she attended law school at the University of Virginia School of Law and received her J.D. in 1996.

Additionally, Maureen is active in the Federal Circuit Bar Association, AIPLA, and IP Law Section of the ABA, and serves as an advisor to FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring young people to pursue a career in science and engineering.

Meaghan Ziemba is a brand storyteller, technical writer, and marketer for manufacturers with a B.A. and M.A. in Professional and Technical Writing. She has been writing for manufacturing since 2008 and hosts a video broadcast series called Mavens of Manufacturing. The series focuses on women in the sector and its mission is to attract younger generations to join manufacturing or engineering career pathways to help close the skills and gender gaps.

Nicole Wolter joined HM Manufacturing in 2009, working from the ground up in a variety of positions. She has a background in chemical engineering and finance, has extensive training on manual lathes and milling machines, and is certified in CAD and 3D Modeling. Under her vision and leadership, HM has implemented new technologies and processes – machinery, ERP system, employee training, and marketing. This has enabled HM to expand its product lines and attract more and larger customers. Nicole also received her NIMS CNC Mill Operations Certification to increase HM Manufacturing's production standards and efficiency.

Nicole is a second-generation manufacturer and the president and CEO of HM Manufacturing. As a skilled and seasoned leader, she is invested in supporting the next generation of manufacturing leaders in addition to advancing the manufacturing industry as a whole. With numerous awards, publications, and certifications under her belt, she is an influential voice in helping promote legislation and public policies designed to stimulate industry growth. Nicole is on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Manufacturing (NAM) and engages with political and industry leaders for advocacy throughout the country. Additionally, she is a part of the Technology & Manufacturing Association (TMA) Executive Board as Vice-Chairman, American Gear Manufacturing Association (AGMA) Board of Directors, Mhub Board of Directors and the TMA Education Foundation Board, coordinating grants to area high schools with manufacturing programs. As a McHenry High School Advisory Board member, she helps to improve their manufacturing program, offers internships, and mentors students about careers in manufacturing.

Laura Élan is the Senior Director of Cybersecurity for MxD Cyber: The National Center for Cybersecurity in Manufacturing. In her role, she will support MxD's cybersecurity projects and initiatives in support of the annual Strategic Investment Plan and will lead MxD's Cybersecurity Steering Committee. Prior to joining MxD in 2021, Laura was responsible for Baxter Healthcare's regulatory strategy for medical software, cybersecurity, interoperability, and AI/ML enabled software. Laura completed her undergraduate work in Electrical Engineering at the University of Illinois – Urbana. She holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Computer Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois. She is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Illinois

Andra Keay is the Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, the non-profit industry association founded by advanced robotics companies to let the rest of the world know what's really happening in robotics. An experienced strategist, she speaks globally about the investments and the impact of robotics in society.

Andra is also the VP of Global Robotics at AMT, a Visiting Scholar at CITRIS People and Robots Lab, an Advisor to Circuit Launch, a partner at The Robotics Hub, founder of Women in Robotics, VP of IEEE Robotics and Automation Society's Industrial Activities Board, Deep Tech Lead for IEEE Entrepreneurship, and creator of global Robotics Clusters.

Shaurabh Kumar Singh is an experienced researcher in the field of Smart Manufacturing with focuses on Information Modeling, Model-Based Standards Development, Digital Twin, Machine Monitoring, Automation, and Device Interoperability. At AMT he is currently driving the development of the MTConnect Information Model and Ontology; and projects including Digital Twin and Device Interoperability.