Rochester, NY, Feb. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The REMADE Institute, a public-private partnership dedicated to accelerating the nation’s transition to a Circular Economy, today announced its Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Magdi Azer will be participating in a Manufacturing USA panel discussion at the upcoming South by Southwest (SXSW) conference scheduled for March 8-16, in Austin Texas.
The annual SXSW conference offers attendees a view of the future, celebrating innovation and technology and providing a forum for creative thinkers to discuss what’s next and learn about the resources that can help them build the future.
As CTO of REMADE, Dr. Azer oversees all technology development activities, including the annual technology roadmap update, developing Requests for Proposals, and leading regular reviews for nearly 100 research and development projects, representing nearly $100 million in investment. Since 2015, Dr. Azer has served as the Associate Director for Manufacturing Science at the Illinois Applied Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Dr. Azer will speak on Saturday, March 9, at 4:00 PM in the Austin Convention Center, Room 6AB during the session titled: “Reimagining Energy Use with Digital Technologies.” The panel will discuss why now is the time to rethink industrial processes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve climate goals, and how intelligent digital technologies enable changes in manufacturing processes and products to radically reduce energy use and eliminate waste. The panel will also highlight how Manufacturing USA builds collaborative innovation ecosystems to advance these critical technologies.
“Increasing the adoption of renewable energy is critically important in our efforts to achieve net-zero by 2050, but it will only get us 55% of the way there,” Azer said. “To tackle the remaining 45%, we must transition to a circular economy where products, materials, and resources are reused, repaired, remanufactured, and recycled, extending their lifespan and reducing their environmental impact.”
Additional panelists for this discussion are technologists and leaders from other institutes in the Manufacturing USA network. They include Dale Brosius, Executive Vice President & Chief Commercialization Officer at The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, Olivia Morales, Solutions Architect at CESMII - The Smart Manufacturing Institute, and Art Wall, Director of Fab Operations at NextFlex.
Representing 30% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, engaging the industrial sector is critical to achieving the nation’s climate goals. Today, digital technologies are helping reimagine manufacturing processes and products to reduce energy use, decrease emissions, and eliminate waste, creating “circular economy” product flows; increasing energy efficiency through smart manufacturing; and employing digital capabilities in new ways to enhance sustainability. Companies, government, and researchers are collaborating to develop and deploy these technologies through the Manufacturing USA national initiative.
Founded in 2017, REMADE is a public-private partnership established and funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies (AMMTO). REMADE enables early-stage applied research and development that will create jobs, dramatically reduce embodied energy and greenhouse gas emissions, and increase the supply and use of recycled materials.
REMADE is one of the 17 institutes of the Manufacturing USA network, created in 2014 to secure U.S. global leadership in advanced manufacturing by connecting people, ideas, and technology. Manufacturing USA institutes convene business competitors, academic institutions, and other stakeholders to test applications of new technology, create new products, reduce cost and risk, and enable the manufacturing workforce with the skills of the future.
For more information about SXSW and to register, please visit: https://schedule.sxsw.com/2024/events/PP142491
About REMADE
Founded in 2017, REMADE is a 165+ member public-private partnership established and funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies (AMMTO) with an initial investment of $140 million. REMADE is the only national institute focused entirely on developing innovative technologies to accelerate the U.S.'s transition to a Circular Economy. In partnership with industry, academia, trade organizations, and national laboratories, REMADE enables early-stage applied research and development that will create jobs, dramatically reduce embodied energy and greenhouse gas emissions, and increase the supply and use of recycled materials. For more information about REMADE (Reducing EMbodied Energy And Decreasing Emissions), visit www.remadeinstitute.org.
About Manufacturing USA
Manufacturing USA® is a national network created to secure U.S. global leadership in advanced manufacturing through large-scale public-private collaboration on technology, supply chain and education and workforce development. The network comprises the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Energy and Defense, their sponsored manufacturing innovation institutes, and six additional federal agency partners, creating a whole-of-government, national effort to drive innovation in manufacturing. In 2022, the network collectively worked with over 2,500 member organizations, 63% of which are manufacturing firms, and 73% of these are small manufacturers, collaborated on over 670 major technology and workforce R&D projects, engaged over 106,000 people in advanced manufacturing training, and invested $416M in these activities from state, industry, and federal funds.
