Craig DoryDirector, Business Development

Center for Automation Technologies and Systems (CATS)

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

November 20, 2013

New VisionsCATS Project Kickoff

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Outline• What is Rensselaer CATS and how

does it work?- CATS mission- CATS business model- CATS research areas

• Problem Solving and Innovation• New Visions CATS Project

- Example CATS Opportunities

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New York State CAT Program

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Industrially-driven research leading to measurable economic impact• Annual baseline funding with industrial

match requirement (stronger emphasis on small enterprises)

• Ten-year designation• Annual economic impact reporting• Since 2000 over $6B economic impact, or

approx $500M/year

The NYSTAR Ecosystem

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Empire State Development Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) • Center for Advanced Technology (CAT):

15 in universities around the state• Regional Technology Development Centers

(RTDCs): 10 NYS economic regions• High Performance Computing Consortium

(HPC2): RPI’s Computational Center for Innovation (CCI), Buffalo, Stony Brook, NYSERNet

RTDC

CAT

HPC2

• Base funding: renewable 10-year contract from Empire State Development / NYSTAR

• Base funding provides for dedicated infrastructure, research staff (4) and support

• $4-5M annual expenditures • ~30 faculty across 3 schools and 9 departments• NYS mandate –> economic impact:

5-yr results: >$300M non-job impacts + >780 jobs

CATS

CATS: A Public/Private Partnership

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Opportunity for Economic Impact

Reso

urce

sLevel of Development

Inventing Commercializing

Industrial-academic- government partnership

Bridge of Partnership

Reso

urce

s

Level of Development

Inventing Commercializing

Lab to Market Chasm

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CATS Research Programs• Industrial Automation and Control• Advanced Robotics and Control Systems• Continuous Processing and Control• Additive and Bioadditive Manufacturing• Energy-Systems Design and Manufacturing• Advanced Composites and

Biocomposites Manufacturing

Rensselaer CATS Mission

Rensselaer CATS conducts cutting edge, industrially relevant research in advanced automation and control systems to advance knowledge, develop new technologies, foster economic growth and engender a richer, more relevant educational experience through collaborative partnerships among its public sector stakeholders, industrial clients, faculty, staff, and students.

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CATS Partner Companies

Companies Engage the CATS for:• Technical consultation, feasibility studies, exploratory

research, etc.• Collaborative research for process/product/system

development and/or improvement, with professional project management

• Proof of Principle Modeling, prototype development and demonstration – identify risky elements and prove out solutions

• Needs/Resource Matching, as a single portal into Rensselaer faculty/organizations, and/or as an honest broker to external targeted resource partners

CATS Business Model

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Industrial Research Projects

Basic Research Projects

• Process/product improvement• Process/product development

Federal agency funded (NSF, DOE, ONR, DARPA, etc.)

Capabilities Reputation

Facilities

staff

faculty

• Sponsored research- Joint proposal- Internal funding- Longer term

• Exploratory investigation- Internal funding - Shorter term

• Publication• Research expenditure• Patents• Student training

• Economic Impact• Student placement• Matching fund

CATS Faculty• Joint projects/proposals:

Miki Amitay (active flow control)Riccardo Bevilacqua (flow control)Diana Borca-Tasciuc (energy harvest) Dave Corr (tissue engineering)Wayne Gray (cognitive modeling)Martin Hardwick (manufacturing)Cheng Hsu (manufacturing)Rena Huang (photonics)Michael Jensen (thermal)Qiang Ji (vision)Agung Julius (circadian control)Eric Ledet (orthopedic treatment)Dan Lewis (fuel cell)Charles Malmborg (manufacturing)

Antoinette Maniatty (modeling)Sandipan Mishra (control, mechatronics)Leila Parsa (Hybrid energy storage)Yoav Peles (thermal)Richard Radke (computer vision)Johnson Samuel (manufacturing) 13

• Faculty led project:Theo Borca-Tasciuc (thermal management)Victor Chan (simulation/optimization)Joe Chow (power systems)Mark Shephard (simulation)Henry Scarton (vibration)

• Joint marketing:Wayne Bequette (process control)Juergen Hahn (systems biology, process control)James Lu (semiconductor manufacturing)

• Education and outreach:Junichi Kanai, Paul Schoch, Mark Steiner, Ken Connor

▪ ECSE ▪ MANE ▪ ISE ▪ CBE ▪ BME ▪ MSE ▪ CS ▪ CogSci

Jennifer Ryan (manufacturing) Onkar Sahni (flow control)Shep Salon (modeling)Art Sanderson (AUV, robotics)

Jeff Trinkle (robotics)

Project Funding• Joint proposals to State (e.g., NYSERDA, NYSTAR and ESDC)

and/or Federal sponsors(e.g., NSF, DOE, DARPA, ONR, NIST, DOT, NIH and DHS) or through SBIR/STTR or BAA funding.(e.g., Ecovative Design, Kintz Plastics, MPI Inc., Simmetrix, Construction Robotics)

• Sponsored research, where companies fund projects when grants are not available, needed or desired.(e.g., BASF, Boeing, ESI, Northrop-Grumman, Bausch & Lomb)

• Gifts, where companies/individuals sponsor more general areas of research.

Selected Partner Organizations• Lally School of Management: Severino Center• The Design Lab• The MILL• Center for Future Energy Systems (CFES)• Scientific Computation Research Center (SCOREC)• Center of Gravity• Other ESD/NYSTAR CATs, CoEs and RTDCs• NYSERDA• DOD, DOE, NSF, NIST, DARPA, NIH

2014 Advanced Manufacturing Conference

• Partnership between Rensselaer CATS and Center for Economic Growth (CEG)• April 22-23, 2014 – Hilton Garden Inn, Troy, NY• 300+ attendees from

industry, academe and government• Technical and Business Conference

Sessions and Workshops• FuzeHub Solutions Forum• Poster session featuring over 50 CATS

industrially relevant research projects• Open House RPI Manufacturing Labs

and Facilities

AMP 2.0 Northeast Regional Meeting• April 24, 2014 – EMPAC on the Rensselaer campus• Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) 2.0 is a working group of President’s Council of

Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)• Renewed national effort to secure US leadership in the emerging technologies that will create

high-quality manufacturing jobs and enhance America’s global competitiveness • President charged AMP 2.0 Steering Committee with developing concrete plans for securing

competitive advantage in advanced manufacturing• AMP 2.0 Meeting engaged manufacturing

community in New York and surrounding stateson key issues including workforce development,scale-up policies and key technologies

• Regional SWOT Analysis• Nearly 200 attendees from industry,

academe and government

Manufacturing@Rensselaer

Lead: Dan Walczyk• Education:

– Manufacturing Innovation and Learning Lab (MILL)

– MS in Manufacturing Certificate Program• Space: CII Highbay renovation (in SOE performance plan)• Marketing:

– Manufacturing research in CATS– Semiconductor manufacturing (Silicon,

Compound SC, SiC): MDIS, ERC– Manufacturing systems: ISE– Nanomanufacturing: NSEC, MSE– Biomanufacturing: CBIS

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Advanced Composites Manufacturing

Lead: Dan Walczyk, • Direction: Energy-efficient manufacturing, novel

manufacturing processes• Partners: Kintz Plastics, Ecovative Design, GE, Automated

Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman• Agencies: DOE, NSF, DOD, NYSERDA

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Fuel Cell Systems

Lead: Daryl Ludlow, Steve Rock, Steve Buelte, Dan Walczyk, Dan Lewis, Nikhil Koratkar, John Wen• Direction: Manufacturing, fault detection, new materials• Partners: BASF Fuel Cell, UTC Power, W.L. Gore, Ballard,

Nuvera, MicroOrganics• Agencies: DOE, NSF, DOD, NYSERDA

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Sustainable Systems

Lead: Sandipan Mishra, John Wen, Yoav Peles, Michael Jensen• Direction: Systems level modeling, optimization, control.

Human interaction. Smart lighting. HVAC control.• Partners: HP Labs, GE, IBM, Carrier• Agencies: NSF, DOE, DOD, NYSERDA

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Advanced RoboticsLead: John Wen, Richard Radke, Martin Hardwick, Wayne Gray, Gaesh Sankaranarayanan, Suvranu De, Qiang Ji, Agung Julius, Diana Borca-Tasiuc• Direction: Sensor guided robotic manipulation,

multi-robot/human-robot collaboration, medical robotics, micro-robotics

• Partners: STEPtools, Saturn Technologies, Vivonics, Lockheed Martin, GM

• Agencies: NSF, NIST, DOD, NIH, NASA

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Manufacturing Systems

Lead: Jennifer Ryan, Cheng Hsu, Victor Chan, Charlie Malmborg• Direction: Manufacturing system modeling, planning,

optimization• Partners: GlobalFoundries, GE• Agencies: DOE

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Machines/cells Machines/cells

Machines/cells

Factory

Factory

Factory

Supply Network

Advanced Materials Processing

Lead: Robert Hull, Antoinette Maniatty, Dan Lewis, Sandipan Mishra, Johnson Samuel, John Wen• Direction: Process modeling and control, novel sensing,

additive manufacturing• Partners: Crystal-IS, Ducommun, Vivonics• Agencies: NSF, DOD

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Aerodynamic Systems

Lead: Onkar Sahni, Miki Amitay, Jason Hicken, Juergen Hahn, Riccardo Bevilacqua, John Wen • Direction: Goal-oriented reduced order modeling and control

design, fluid/structure interaction, design optimization• Partners: Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, GE• Agencies: DOD, NASA

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Problem Solving 101• Dig in to thoroughly understand the, issues,

opportunity(ies) and requirements• Develop an objective problem statement

– Clear, concise description of the issues to be addressed– Use the 5 W’s and an H– Include scope, resources and other limitations (e.g.,

time, money, technology, etc.)– Describe the deliverable

• Identify (multiple) possible solutions• Example: Pencil Sharpener

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Problem Solving 101 Cont’d• Find the “best” solution

– Develop evaluation criteria based on requirements, feasibility, cost, ease of use, resource limitations, etc.

– Determine “best” alternative based on evaluation criteria

• Develop action/development plan• Implement!!

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in·no·va·tion noun \ˌi-nə-ˈvā-shən\

1: the introduction of something new2: a new idea, method, or device

- Merriam-Webster

In business, you need to innovate to grow.Examples?

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New Visions CATS Project• Develop paper solution for a real-world challenge• Use problem-solving steps• There’s no right answer!!!

– Think holistically (i.e., big picture)– Think out of the box (don’t limit your ideas to what you

know or what’s been done before)– The “best” answer may surprise you (and us!!)

• Use mentors for help/guidance• Present solution and steps (i.e., show your work!!)

in final presentation

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CATS Problems Opportunities

Using automation:• Design system to paint a hi-resolution picture on a bridge or pier from an

unmoored/unattached vessel in the water• Design system to construct a brick wall• Design system to map potential wind farm sites• Design system to inspect shipboard storage tanks• Design system to safely dispose of old (explosive) jars of picric acid • Design system to protect homes in remote areas from forest fires • Design UAV refueling system• Design system to improve productivity in agriculture (e.g., precision soil testing

for targeted insecticide/fertilizer application or watering, etc.) • Design hose for outdoor watering needs in (freezing) cold weather• Design system to precisely map a city sewer system (in 3D)

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New Visions CATS Project Goals

• Exposure to real world challenges• Practice developing a solution from

problem identification to delivery• Practice researching areas and developing

expertise out of your normal comfort zone• Have some fun doing it!!

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CATS Mentors

• B. Wayne Bequette, Ph.D. – Associate Director for Process Systems, CATS and Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering

• Craig Dory – Director, Business Development, CATS• Daryl Ludlow, Ph.D. – Research Scientist, CATS• Steve Rock, Ph.D. – Sr. Research Scientist, CATS• Glenn Saunders – Sr. Research Engineer, CATS• Dan Walczyk, Ph.D. – Associate Director for

Manufacturing, CATS and Professor, MANE

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GO!33