Congresswoman Melissa Bean (Invited)
U.S. Representative to Illinois' Eighth Congressional District

Congresswoman Melissa Bean is serving her second term as U.S. Representative to Illinois' Eighth Congressional District, which includes portions of Lake, McHenry and Cook Counties. She serves on the House Financial Services Committee, including the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises and the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. She also serves on the House Committee on Small Business, where she is Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Tax, Finance, and Exports.

Because of her background and connection to her community, Congresswoman Melissa Bean is a vocal advocate for seniors, small business owners, and all families who call Illinois' Eighth Congressional District home.

Senator Christine Radogno
Illinois State Senator - 41st District

Christine Radogno has served in the Illinois Senate since 1997. She currently represents the 41st District in Cook, DuPage, and Will counties. Senator Radogno is the Deputy Republican Leader, acting as both an advisor and second-in-command to the Republican Leader. She is also the Republican Spokesman for the Senate Rules Committee and the Human Services Committee, while also serving on all three Senate Appropriations Committees, Executive Committee, and the Public Health Committee. Senator Radogno also serves on the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, and is a member of the Illinois Conference of Women Legislators, and previously served as Co-Chair.

In the Senate, Christine Radogno sponsored debt responsibility and contracting reforms intended to restore discipline and accountability to the state's borrowing and contracting practices. She also sponsored legislation lowering the legal blood alcohol content for drivers to .08. She also sponsored laws creating parity for coverage of mental illnesses and expanding medical assistance for indigent families, elderly individuals, and persons with disabilities. Senator Radogno is also a long-time champion of environmental issues both at the state and local levels. Before running for the Senate, Christine Radogno served as Village of LaGrange trustee (1989-1996), Village of LaGrange Economic Development Commission (1988), and worked as a social worker at Mercy Center for Health Care Services. Christine Radogno founded "Citizens Active in Reclaiming the Environment" (CARE) to oppose McCook Reservoir Project and McCook and Summit incinerators, and served on the board of the Community Support Services. She also serves as a member of the League of Women Voters and local chambers of commerce.

Senator Radogno was educated in the Chicago area. She holds a Master's degree in Social Work at Loyola University, Chicago, and a Bachelor's degree at Loyola University.

Patrick M. Phalen
Senior Director, Restaurant Technology
McDonald's

Patrick M. Phalen joined McDonald's Restaurant Technology department in April 2007 and serves as a Senior Director. In his current role, he leads an initiative to develop and deploy next generation quick-service restaurant software for McDonald's globally. Patrick brings a unique background of application development and infrastructure deployment to the IT Restaurants team.

Patrick has been working in the quick service restaurant industry since 1995. He has an extensive 20+ year background in information technology management. His expertise includes implementing global technology and infrastructure projects for McDonald's and a global financial institution prior to his current position. His experiences include integrating supply chain and data warehousing applications along with security and identity management infrastructure deployments.

Patrick graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a Master's degree in Business Administration of Finance with a specialization in International Business. His Bachelor of Science degree is in Business and Technology Management from E. Illinois University.

Jamal Yagoobi
Chair/Professor of Mechanical, Materials & Aerospace Engineering
Illinois Institute of Technology

Dr. Yagoobi received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in mechanical engineering in 1984. After receiving his Ph.D., he worked for Westvaco Corporation as a research engineer before joining Texas A&M University in 1987, where he established the "Drying Research Center (DRC)" and developed an exclusive "Electrohydrodynamics Laboratory". In 2002, Dr. Yagoobi joined the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) as the Chair of the Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering Department.

Dr. Yagoobi's research specialties are enhancement of heat and mass transfer in single-phase and two-phase flows in macro and micro scales with electrohydrodynamics (in the presence and absence of the gravity), heat and mass transfer in porous media (drying), and innovative impinging jets (with and without chemical reactions). He has received numerous teaching and research awards and has secured several patents. He is a Fellow ASME, a Senior Member of IEEE, and he was the recipient of the 1998 Pi Tau Sigma/ASME Gustus L. Larson Memorial Award. He was also the Paul John Faculty Fellow and Texas Engineering Experiment Station Senior Fellow at Texas A&M University. He is currently a member of the Advisory Committee of the International Conference on Dielectric Liquids and International Heat Transfer Conference and associate editor for the ASME Journal of Heat Transfer and the IEEE-IAS Transactions. He is also a member of the International Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Drying Technology, and Advisory Panel of the International Drying Symposium and has served as a consultant to many corporations in the U.S.A. and Canada.

Timothy Gutowski
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tim Gutowski is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was the Director of MIT's Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity for ten years (1994 - 2004) and Associate Department Head for Mechanical Engineering for four (1994 - 2004). His teaching and research are focused on manufacturing and the environment. He has over 100 technical publications, a book on Advance Composites Manufacturing and 7 patents. Currently he is working a new book: Thermodynamics and the Destruction of Resources, for Cambridge University Press. He was recently interviewed on Science Friday (NPR) for his work on Environmental Life Style Analysis, which was presented at IEEE's conference on the environment.

Download Presentation - The Role of Manufacturing in a Sustainable Society
Gutowski Publications

Ibrahim Jawahir
James F. Hardymon Chair in Manufacturing Systems, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering
University of Kentucky

Dr. Ibrahim Jawahir is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering (since July 1996), and James F. Hardymon Endowed Chair in Manufacturing Systems (since July 2002) at the University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY, USA), and the Chairman of the Technical Area of Manufacturing in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He received his Ph.D. from the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia) in 1986. Dr. Jawahir has been active in the area of machining processes for three decades, has published over 180 research papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings, and has been awarded 4 U.S. patents. He has directed the research of 18 PhD and 54 MS graduates. His current research interests are: modeling and optimization of machining operations, product design for sustainability, and sustainable manufacturing. During the last eighteen years at the University of Kentucky, he has received significant research funding from major industrial groups including Toyota, General Motors, Ford, and from U.S. Government agencies such as National Science Foundation, Department of Education and Department of Defense. Dr. Jawahir is a Fellow of CIRP (The International Academy for Production Engineering). He is also a member of ASME and SME. He is the Technical Editor of the Journal of Machining Science and Technology (published by Taylor & Francis Publishers). He is a Member and the Vice Chair of the ASME Board for Research and Technology Development (BRTD). In 2006, he was elected as the Chairman of the ASME Research Committee on "Sustainable Products and Processes." In 2007, he became the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Sustainable Manufacturing (published by InderScience Publishers, United Kingdom). He has delivered keynote addresses in 15 major international conferences, and over 60 invited presentations in 25 countries.

Download Presentation - Beyond the 3R's: 6R Sustainability Concepts for Next Generation Manufacturing

Thomas R. Kurfess
Professor and BMW Chair of Manufacturing in the Department of Mechanical Engineering
Clemson University

Thomas was born in Des Plaines, Illinois. He received his S.B., S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from M.I.T. in 1986, 1987 and 1989, respectively. He also received an S.M. degree from M.I.T. in electrical engineering and computer science in 1988. Following graduation, he joined Carnegie Mellon University where he rose to the rank of Associate Professor. In 1994 he moved to the Georgia Institute of Technology where he rose to the rank of Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. In 2005 he was named Professor and BMW Chair of Manufacturing in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University. He is also the Director of the Campbell Graduate Engineering Center at Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research. He presently serves as a participating guest at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in their Precision Engineering Program. He has served as a special consultant of the United Nations to the Government of Malaysia in the area of applied mechatronics and manufacturing. His research work focuses on the design and development of high precision manufacturing and metrology systems. He has received numerous awards including the Charles F. Carter Jr., Advancing Manufacturing Award (AMT), a National Science Foundation (NSF) Young Investigator Award, an NSF Presidential Faculty Fellowship Award presented at the White House, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Pi Tau Sigma Award, Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Young Manufacturing Engineer of the Year Award, the ASME Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award, the ASME Gustus L. Larson Award. He is a Fellow of the ASME and the SME.

Download Presentation - The Globe, the Car, and the Engineer: A Tale about Producing the Most Complex Consumer Product on Earth

Yung Shin
Donald A. & Nancy G. Roach Professor of Advanced Manufacturing
Director of the Center for Laser-based Manufacturing
Purdue University

Yung Shin currently is a professor of mechanical engineering and also director of the Center for Laser-based Manufacturing at Purdue University. After receiving his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from University of Wisconsin in 1984, he worked as a senior project engineer at the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan from 1984 to 1988 and as an assistant professor at the Pennsylvania State University from 1988 to 1990 prior to joining the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University. His research areas include laser processing of materials, intelligent and adaptive control of manufacturing processes, dynamics of machine tools, high speed machining, machining of advanced materials, process monitoring and automation. He has published over 200 papers in archived refereed journals and refereed conference proceedings, and has authored chapters in several engineering handbooks, co-edited two books and authored a book. He has organized or co-organized many conferences and symposia in his areas of research, was the host and chair of the 30th North American Manufacturing Research Conference in 2002 and is the organizing chair of the 2009 ASME International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference.

Download Presentation - The Role and Opportunities of Advanced Manufacturing in the U.S.

Deba Dutta
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
University of Michigan

Deba Dutta is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a Scholar-in-Residence at the National Academy of Engineering. During 2004-07 he served in the Education and Human Resources directorate of the National Science Foundation as Acting Division Director, Program Director and Advisor to the Assistant Director. From 1999-2002, he was Director of the University of Michigan's Program in Manufacturing. His research has been in computer aided design and manufacturing, in particular, solid and surface modeling, and process planning for CNC and layered manufacturing. At Michigan he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in product design and manufacturing. His current research focus is on Product Lifecycle Management and he directs the University of Michigan's PLM Alliance (http://plm.engin.umich.edu). He has directed 17 doctoral students and several Master's students and co-authored over 150 technical publications. He serves on the editorial board of five journals and is a Fellow of ASME.

Download Presentation - Product Lifecycle Management: Back to the Future

David W. Rosen
Professor and Associate Chair for Graduate Studies
Georgia Institute of Technology

David Rosen is a Professor and Associate Chair for Graduate Studies in the School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is Director of the Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing Institute at Georgia Tech. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts in 1992 and his Masters and Bachelors degrees from the University of Minnesota in 1987 and 1985, respectively, all in mechanical engineering. His research interests include computer-aided design, additive manufacturing, and design methodology. During his graduate school years, he was a software engineer at Computervision Corp. and a Visiting Research Scientist at Ford Research Laboratories. He is a Fellow of ASME and recently served on the ASME Computers and Information in Engineering Division Executive Committee.

Download Presentation - Digital Design and Manufacturing: New Ideas and Technologies for Competitiveness

Alberto Cuitiño
Professor and Interim Chairman
Mary W. Raisler Distinguished Teaching Chair
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Rutgers University

Dr. Cuitiño received his Civil Engineering degree from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1986, his MS degree in Applied Mathematics and a Ph.D. degree in Solid Mechanics from Brown University in 1992 and 1993 respectively. In 1993, Dr. Cuitiño joined the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department at Rutgers University. His research interests include multi-scale modeling, dislocation mechanics, consolidation of granular materials, modeling of solid foams, digital image correlation, folding patterns in thin films and modeling of ferroelectric polymers and ceramics. Dr. Cuitiño is currently the editor of Mechanics, a publication of the American Academy of Mechanics) and also the applied mechanics subject editor for the Latin American Applied Research. Dr. Cuitiño has developed research programs with numerous federal and state agencies as well as industry. He is currently the site leader for the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center on Structure Organic Particle Systems that brings together a cross-disciplinary team of engineers and scientists, as well as industry leaders, to improve the way pharmaceuticals, foods and agricultural products are manufactured.

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Joel Goldberg
Chief Operations Officer
Atlas Material Testing Technology LLC

As the Director of Global Operations, Mr. Goldberg has responsibility for Global Information Technology, Global Quality, and Global Sourcing. He also has P&L responsibility as the President of the Kaan Division, a contract manufacturing facility located in Chicago. His oversight of the Atlas manufacturing group includes logistics, IT, and facilities management. In recent years he has served on the advisory board of the Illinois Institute of Technology's B.A. and M.A. Manufacturing Technology and Management program, the Chicago Manufacturing Center, a regional center of the National Institute of Standards and Technology?s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST), the Tooling and Manufacturing Association's Apprenticeship Training Committee and the Ravenswood Industrial Council.

Download Presentation - Is Sustainable Manufacturing in Direct Conflict with EBITDA?

Demetria Giannisis
President and CEO
Chicago Manufacturing Center

Demetria Giannisis serves as President and CEO of the Chicago Manufacturing Center (CMC), a nonprofit consulting firm that provides solutions for industry and public stakeholders investing in growth. Her prior experience includes leadership positions in technology transfer, economic policy, and business strategy consulting. Ms. Giannisis started up the Chicago Manufacturing Technology Consortium with collaborative leadership from the Economic Development Commission and the Illinois Institute of Technology. The Consortium's work led to CMC's founding in 1994 and designation as part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Ms. Giannisis' role includes advising business and government leaders working to advance sustainable growth, regional preparedness and economic development. The Chicago Waste to Profit Network is one example of an innovation service that CMC experts deliver in partnership with the City of Chicago's Department of Environment to capture the environmental gains and economic benefits of industrial by-product synergy for the Chicago region. Ms. Giannisis is a frequent speaker who serves as an expert resource for local public radio and television. She has been featured in Forbes, Crain's 40 under 40, and in local media as a social entrepreneur for economic solutions. Demetria currently serves on the Leadership Council of the National Council for Advanced Manufacturing; the USEPA/ EPA Region V Water Security and Business Resilience Team, and the Leadership Council for Mercy Home for Boys and Girls. She received a B.A. with honors in political science from Northwestern University, and an M.A. in public policy from the University of Chicago, Irving Harris School of Public Policy.

Download Presentation - Breakthrough Value Creation for Small and Mid Size Manufacturers through the Sustainability Growth Services of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP)

Alex Folk
Center Operations Manager, Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), U.S. Department of Commerce
Manager, Green Suppliers Network

Alex Folk has served multiple roles while with the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). He has served as the National Account Manager with MEP, in which he was responsible for developing partnerships in both the public and private sector, and for identifying business opportunities that leverage state & federal funding with the goal to improve the competitiveness of US-based manufacturers. The major areas of focus included fostering best practices, knowledge sharing, and multi-center collaboration. A key responsibility was the management of federal partnership programs including the Green Suppliers Network and Trade Association accounts. Prior to that, Mr. Folk was an Account Manager for the cooperative agreements maintained between NIST MEP and the MEP Centers located throughout the United States. Roles in this position included managing performance, developing and maintaining state and local partner relationships, and promoting best business practices throughout the system. Before coming to NIST, Mr. Folk served as Program Manager for the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC), Inc. in Bethesda, MD, where he managed several corporate programs with the company, as well as provided oversight of all plant project development, coordination and budgeting activities. Mr. Folk holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Download Presentation - Easier Than You Think: The Green Suppliers Network Leveraging Partnerships

Keith McKee (Panel Moderator)
Program Director, Industrial Technology and Management
Illinois Institute of Technology

Dr. McKee directs IIT's Industrial Technology and Management (INTM) Programs as well as the IIT Manufacturing Productivity Center (MPC). INTM offers the Bachelor of Industrial Technology and Management as well as the Master of Industrial Technology and Operations. Specializations are available in Manufacturing, Logistics, Facilities, and Energy. All courses are offered interactively between IIT main and suburban campus as well as on the web to make them available for working adults. IIT's Manufacturing Productivity Center, since it was established in 1976, has provided assistance to over 2000 primarily Small and Medium Manufacturing Companies. Dr. McKee is the author/editor of 7 books and has numerous publications. Awards received include the Gold Metal from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Fellow from the World Academy of Productivity Science, Who's Who Worldwide, Who's Who in America, and Gold Metal from the American Defense Preparedness Association.

William Blankemeier
Founder and President
PeopleFlo Manufacturing

William founded PeopleFlo in 2003. Aside from his responsibilities as President, William formulates business strategy and oversees company development. His current priority is building PeopleFlo's team of employees, strategic partners and customer partners. William comes to PeopleFlo from a leading pump manufacturer where, as General Manager, he implemented the change from batch manufacturing to a "lean" manufacturing system. Prior to general management, William held senior level sales and marketing positions for ITT Fluid Technologies and the Tuthill Pump Group. He holds a BA degree in Economics from Middlebury College, Vermont and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Download Presentation - The PeopleFlo Way "Lean" Manufacturing System: A Green Enabler

Hee-Chang Park
Principal Research Engineer
Electromagnetic Machinary Research Team/Intelligent Manufacturing Systems Research Division
Micro Mechatronics Application Team, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials

Hee-Chang Park received his Ph.D. in 1988 from the Department of Electronic Engineering, Dongguk Univ., Korea and has been working with the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials since 1982. His system specializations include induction heating, Maglev, 3D Vision System, Drum Dryer Systems and Satellite Systems. His areas of research are based in Electromagnetics, mechatronics, signal processing and optimal estimation.

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Sammy Tin
Professor, Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering Department
Illinois Institute of Technology
Sammy Tin is an Associate Professor of Materials Engineering in the Department of Aerospace, Materials, and Mechanical Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Prior to this appointment, Professor Tin was an Assistant Director of Research at the University of Cambridge, UK and Deputy Director of the Rolls-Royce/Cambridge University Technology Center for High Temperature Materials. During his time at the Rolls-Royce University Technology Center, he led an active group of researchers working a range of projects relating to the development of novel high performance structural materials for aerospace applications and advanced manufacturing processes. Professor Tin has been awarded the 2004 Rolls-Royce Mark Shipton Patent Award for innovative materials technology, the 2006 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Cook/Ablett Award and the 2007 ASM Marcus A Grossmann Award. Prof. Tin has two patent applications and authored or co-authored over 50 manuscripts in referred journals and conference proceedings related to advanced manufacturing processes and the development of novel structural materials.

Download Presentation - Manufacturing Innovation: The Key to Remaining Competitive in a Global Economy

Edward J. Daniels (Panel Moderator)
Director, Energy Systems Division
Argonne National Laboratory

w Mr. Daniels is a Senior Scientist and Director of the Energy Systems Division at Argonne National Laboratory. The Energy Systems Division conducts applied research to develop sustainable innovative technologies to improve the efficiency of resource and energy utilization; to minimize our dependence on imported energy; and to enhance our national security. The expertise of the Division encompasses transportation technologies, distributed energy systems, and industrial process engineering and analysis for basic industries such as steel, aluminum, chemicals and glass as well as emerging industries including bio-based fuels and chemicals, hydrogen production and nano-manufacturing. While the primary sponsor for the Division's work is the U.S. Department of Energy, the Division collaborates extensively with the private sector working with small start-ups to Fortune 100's to develop technology and information to support their businesses. The Division has received numerous R&D 100 Awards and Federal Laboratory Consortium Awards for Excellence in Technology Transfer in recognition of the impact and success of the technology developed. Mr. Daniels has more than 30 years of experience in technology R&D and contract research. He holds seven patents. He has authored more than 125 papers on energy technology. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy at Indiana University and Purdue University, Indianapolis. His work has been recognized through numerous awards including the University of Chicago Distinguished Performance Award, the Intellectual Law Property Association of Chicago Inventor of the Year Award for 2003, the Federal Laboratory Consortium Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer, the Society of Automotive Engineers' Arch T. Colwell Merit Award and the Society of Plastics Industry GPEC Award for Sustainable Technology. Mr. Daniels received a B.S. in Engineering and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

George Hazelrigg
Deputy Division Director - Division of Civil, Mechanical & Manufacturing Innovation
National Science Foundation

George Hazelrigg obtained his MA, MSE, and PhD degrees in aerospace engineering from Princeton University. In the past 25 years, he has worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, General Dynamics, Princeton University and a consulting firm of which he was a co-founder. He spent a year in Korea helping to found the Systems Engineering Department of Ajou University and has also spent time as Station Science Leader ("Emperor") of the South Pole during January 1996. In 2002, he relinquished control of the Engineering Design program, and took over as Program Director for the Manufacturing Machines and Equipment program. More recently, with the formation of the Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation Division, he became Deputy Division Director.

Download Presentation - Engineering Design in the Age of Modeling and Simulation

Xiaoping Qian
Professor, Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering Department
Illinois Institute of Technology

Xiaoping Qian is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Prior to his current position, he worked as a research scientist at General Electric Global Research Center, Schenectady, NY from 2001 through 2004. He obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan. His general research interests are in the area of computer-aided product design and manufacturing. His current research activities, supported in part by NSF, AFOSR, SME, and General Electric include 1) point-based computational techniques that can support direct design and manufacturing from 3D sensing, and 2) tip-specimen shape interaction modeling in atomic force microscopy for nano-manufacturing and nano-metrology.

Download Presentation - Direct Design and Manufacturing from Pre-Existing Physical Parts

Dean Robinson
GE Research

Dean leads the Product Realization Lab (PRL) at GE's Global Research Center (GRC) in Niskayuna, NY. He has held this position since 2000. PRL develops technologies for 3-D model-based fabrication, variation management, and geometry-process integration for precision manufacturing and inspection. The lab works primarily with GE's Infrastructure businesses (Aviation, Energy, Oil & Gas) and with GE Inspection Technologies. Current focus areas include digital additive fabrication at the macro and micro scales, adaptive & robotic machining, and path-planning/tooling for composites manufacturing. Dean has worked at GRC since 1983, except for a 5.5-year leave to pursue full-time graduate study at Cornell. His early work included algorithms and software to generate NC machining and inspection paths from solid models, and algorithms to analyze 3-D coordinate measurement data. After returning to GRC from Cornell in 1995, Dean developed technologies, tools and training for 3-D assembly and system tolerance analysis. He led Advanced Tolerancing and Producibility projects for several GE businesses from 1997 through 2000.

Session Abstract - Model-Based Manufacturing: Research and Applications

Emory Zimmers
Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering Department
Lehigh University

Dr. Emory W. Zimmers, Jr. is Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE), the Director of the Enterprise Systems Center (ESC), and the Site Director of the National Science Foundation's Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution (CELDi) at Lehigh University. His research interests include computer control of industrial systems, agility applications in manufacturing, logistics and distribution systems, new techniques in multi-media distance learning, entrepreneurship, and leadership development. His research often involves collaboration among education, industry, and government partners to implement new findings.

As Center Director he is responsible for leading multi-disciplinary project teams that analyze factory or general business operations and design improved systems in collaboration with the center's industry and governmental partners. These programs utilize students from a variety of disciplines and grades from local high school students through the Ph.D. and post-doc level. Dr. Zimmers has served as principal investigator on more than 300 research and technology transfer projects with over 155 industry partners. He has co-authored or been responsible for at least 76 papers and 288 technical reports. He is the co-author of the text titled CAD/CAM: Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing. He has been elected a Fellow of both the Institute of Industrial Engineers and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. He has been the recipient of Lehigh University's Robinson Award for outstanding performance in service to the university.

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