WEST LAFAYETTE – Computer graphics technology professor Nathan W. Hartman and engineering professor John W. Sutherland have been appointed as co-executive directors of Purdue University's Indiana Next Generation Manufacturing Competitiveness Center (IN-MaC).

Hartman is a professor in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute and director of the Product Lifecycle Management Center of Excellence, while Sutherland is a professor and the Fehsenfeld Family Head of Environmental and Ecological Engineering in the Purdue College of Engineering.

The appointments were jointly announced by Leah H. Jamieson, the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering and the Ransburg Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Purdue Polytechnic Dean Gary R. Bertoline, a distinguished professor in the Department of Computer Graphics Technology and a professor of Computer & Information Technology. Jamieson and Bertoline serve as chairs of IN-MaC's executive committee.

“Professors Hartman and Sutherland are uniquely suited to lead IN-MaC,” Jamieson and Bertoline said in a joint statement. “Sutherland is a world-renowned expert and pioneer in the field of sustainable manufacturing who has extensive experience in industrial quality and productivity improvement. Hartman is a recognized global thought leader in product lifecycle management and a pioneer in digital enterprise technologies and methods.”

Hartman is excited about the appointment, saying IN-MaC has an opportunity to link manufacturing research to the industrial base in the state of Indiana through technology adoption and education and workforce development.

“The focus of this work will be high technology readiness level activities in the digital enterprise, process optimization and manufacturing sustainment areas targeted at the incumbent workforce,” Hartman said.

Added Sutherland: “One of IN-MaC's key activities is to continue to reinforce Indiana's leadership in manufacturing in the region and in the U.S. through research and industrial engagement in next-generation methods and tools, as well as areas including digital manufacturing and the use of digital product data to support the production and delivery of products.”