In hopes of building a sustainable supply chain, Purdue University’s inaugural summit on excellence in manufacturing and operations in Washington, D.C. drew more than 250 industry leaders live and online on November 7, 2023.
The summit, which was hosted by the school’s eXcellence in Manufacturing and Operations Purdue Engineering Initiative (XMO PEI), attracted representatives to explore the development of industry infrastructure with digital, physical, and sustainable manufacturing and operations (M&O).
Mung Chiang, President of Purdue University, explained, “Reshoring, retooling, and retraining for advanced manufacturing in the U.S. has become essential and urgent, and there’s no better place to accomplish the mission than the Midwest, especially here along the Hard-Tech Corridor,” referring to the school’s West Lafayette, Ind. campus.
He added, “The XMO Summit brings expertise in the digital, physical, and sustainable innovation of manufacturing across new materials, processes, and applications.”
The summit focused on key aspects of resilience for manufacturing: reshoring, retooling, and retraining in M&O. The supply chain is a vital component of many critical industries, including agriculture, aerospace and defense, microelectronics and semiconductors, and logistics and transportation. Attendees to the summit, both in person and online, represented 29 U.S. states (see image above).