Engineering research centers: the Purdue experience

Activities at the Purdue Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Intelligent Manufacturing Systems, created in May, 1985, are described. The Purdue ERC has established a clear research agenda, a strong education program, close industry collaboration, and the organizational structure and policies to manage this ambitious effort. Over 200 students and faculty from 13 departments are directly involved in the ERC research activities, and over 1000 publications have already resulted. The Purdue ERC targets all of the technical activities involved in discrete product manufacturing from early design to final assembly and finishing. The integration of knowledge from different engineering disciplines is a common theme throughout research and education programs. The author outlines some of the most important aspects of the Purdue ERC consortium, including the research and educational objectives, the mechanisms employed for industrial collaboration and technology transfer, and the policies instituted to support the goals