Tony Shi, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering & Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The mission of Manufacturing Intelligent Dynamics Laboratory (MINDS Lab) is to operationalize manufacturing processes and systems innovations by establishing the mathematical relationships of machines, tools, processes and materials, with a focus on metal additive manufacturing, machining, hybrid manufacturing and smart manufacturing, to advance next-generation design and manufacturing. The MINDS Lab aims to establish a systems approach of machine-tool-process-materials convergence, to make manufacturing machines acquire the capabilities of thinking about manufacturability, stability and materials elements, including geometry, surface, structure, property and performance. The research vision of MINDS Lab is to enable sustainable innovations in additive, subtractive, hybrid and smart manufacturing to achieve localized production of high-quality parts and products for addressing the supply chain challenges towards a sustainable future, with broader applications in aerospace, defense, automotive and energy sectors. 

The MINDS Lab has the capabilities to design and build open-source and low-cost CNC machines with research utility to perform fundamental research in support of this goal, while taking care to consider its integration with practical implementation, engineering education and workforce development. Through this combined agenda, students at many levels are trained to acquire physics-based modeling capabilities coupled with fundamental experimental techniques and data analytics skills, including physics-based machine learning. Our educational vision is to enable students to have strong problem-solving capabilities and a beautiful mind of design and manufacturing to contribute to their careers and life, and human society.