Moving a new idea from a research lab to production remains one of industry’s toughest challenges. But at the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI), which leads the nation in translating research into technologies that shape the future of U.S. manufacturing, that gap is being closed by design. This effort was on full display during AMPF Week, a two-day celebration marking the official opening of the newly renovated Georgia Tech Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility (AMPF).

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The Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI) has selected Aaron P. Stebner as its new associate director, expanding the institute’s leadership as it scales advanced manufacturing research, infrastructure, and industry engagement.

Stebner is the Eugene C. Gwaltney Jr. Chair in Manufacturing and a professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, with a joint appointment in the School of Materials Science and Engineering. He also serves as a James R. and Sarah R. Borders Faculty Fellow, founding director of Georgia Artificial Intelligence Manufacturing (Georgia AIM), and executive director of Georgia Tech’s Professional Master’s in Manufacturing Leadership program.

In his role as associate director, Stebner will lead operations, engagement and continued growth of the Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility (AMPF), a cornerstone of Georgia Tech’s manufacturing ecosystem. The facility brings together artificial intelligence, automation, robotics, and digital manufacturing to accelerate materials discovery and manufacturing innovation at pilot scale.

The AMPF is evolving into what Georgia Tech leaders describe as a national first: a university-based, self-driving manufacturing facility that allows new technologies to be invented, tested and de-risked before they reach full-scale production. Backed by more than $80 million in federal, state, and private investment, the facility serves as a shared-use platform for industry, startups, researchers, and government partners.

“AMPF is a national user facility and a blended industry-academia, human-AI environment where new manufacturing discoveries are made ready for industry adoption,” Stebner said. “By integrating AI-enabled systems, real-time automation and pilot-scale validation, we’re helping shorten the timeline from discovery to deployment.”

Stebner’s research and leadership sit at the intersection of artificial intelligence, manufacturing, materials, and mechanics, with an emphasis on intelligent and adaptive manufacturing systems. His work spans advanced alloys, additive manufacturing, autonomous experimentation, and data-driven process design, with applications across aerospace, automotive, biomedical, energy and industrial sectors.

Under his leadership, the AMPF is expected to continue expanding as a national collaboration hub for academia, industry, and government. The facility supports pilot-scale testing of emerging technologies, workforce development and applied research aimed at strengthening U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and economic resilience.

Stebner’s appointment also strengthens the alignment between GTMI, Georgia AIM and Georgia Tech’s broader research enterprise, integrating AI-driven research, translational infrastructure, and industry partnerships into a cohesive model for manufacturing innovation.

“With Aaron’s experience building forward-looking manufacturing programs and leading large, interdisciplinary teams, GTMI is well positioned to accelerate the impact of the AMPF and related initiatives,” said Tom Kurfess, executive director of GTMI.

Georgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing, or Georgia AIM, has received one of the highest research awards at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Impact.

 

The award was announced March 25, 2026 and is one of six Institute Research Awards given by Georgia Tech’s Office of the Executive Vice President for Research. The portfolio of awards honors achievements in research engagement, innovation, faculty advising, and impact. 

 

Georgia AIM is a statewide coalition led by the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2) and the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI) to develop and deploy AI talent and innovation in manufacturing. The Georgia AIM coalition includes dozens of universities, technical colleges, nonprofits, and economic development organizations.

 

“It is an incredible experience to collaborate with technology and economic development leaders around the state to lead the nation and the world in AI for manufacturing,” said Aaron Stebner, Georgia AIM co-director and the Eugene C. Gwaltney Jr. Chair in Manufacturing at Georgia Tech. 

 

“We are truly honored to receive this recognition from our peers at Georgia Tech,” said Tom Kurfess, GTMI Executive Director and HUSCO/Ramirez Distinguished Chair in Fluid Power and Motion Control. 

 

Georgia AIM was initiated in 2021 by Stebner, EI2 Vice President David Bridges, Kurfess, Georgia AIM managing director and GTMI deputy director Steven Ferguson, and Georgia Tech executive director for strategic partnerships George White. The coalition received an initial $500,000 planning grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), which was followed by $65 million in additional grants from EDA and with additional federal, state, and private sector support now totals more than $100 million to enact projects across the state. 

 

The Georgia AIM coalition counts many achievements on and off campus, including:

• Supporting collaborations for more than thirty-five faculty, fifty research faculty and professionals, ten post docs, eighty graduate research assistants, one hundred and fifty undergraduate research assistants, and dozens of staff at Georgia Tech.
• Transforming the Georgia Tech Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility into a national user facility for research and development to invent, test, derisk, and mature AI manufacturing and materials technologies.
• Building a manufacturing commercialization pipeline that links faculty research, student innovation, startups, and corporate partners to introduce AI manufacturing innovations to regional and national economies.
• Launching workforce development programs that provide new opportunities and career paths thousands of students spanning K-12 engagement, technical apprenticeships and credentials, and professional education.
• Providing STEM experiences including AI coding camps, robotics competitions, and advanced manufacturing competitions to thousands of students across Georgia.
• 21 peer reviewed journal articles, 5 peer reviewed conference proceedings, 5 National Academies workshop presentations, 5 keynote/plenary presentations, more than 200 conference presentations and posters, 13 invention disclosures, 7 provisional patents, 2 full patents filed to date with dozens more in process. 

“Georgia AIM proves that innovation scales when built alongside workforce,” said Ferguson. “We built a seamless pipeline from education to industry, ensuring talent is ready to deploy AI in real manufacturing environments on day one.”

 

“The impact of Georgia AIM is grounded in collaboration — universities, industry, nonprofits and communities working together to shape the future of advanced manufacturing in Georgia,” said Bridges. “This recognition underscores what a coordinated statewide effort can accomplish.”

 

Because research covers a range of activities — from research and development to commercialization and public impacts — the annual awards recognize the many facets of work in this area. The peer-driven nomination process emphasizes measurable contributions and leadership across disciplines.

 

“The strength of Georgia Tech’s research enterprise begins with the talented people who push discovery forward every day,” said Tim Lieuwen, executive vice president for Research. “Congratulations to this year’s honorees, who demonstrate what it means to turn bold ideas into real-world impact, advancing knowledge from fundamental science to commercial and community applications. With these awards, we celebrate their leadership, creativity, and dedication to serving the public good.”

 

Read more about this year’s Institute Research Award winners. 

Smart manufacturing, data-driven design, and artificial intelligence aren’t just buzzwords — they are fields that are creating high-paying, high-tech careers across the country. In rural communities across Georgia, these advanced manufacturing roles are growing, but the talent pipeline isn’t keeping pace.

“It’s not just about creating jobs, it’s about filling them,” says Tom Kurfess, Regents’ Professor in mechanical engineering and executive director of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI). “To do that, we need to show students how exciting and innovative manufacturing can be. Manufacturing has really changed over the past few years. Today, going from an idea to a physical part is much easier to do. It is fun and exciting to bring ideas to life and to actually hold the results in your hands.”

GTMI is working to reignite student interest in the art and science of making through its new K–12 initiative: the Advanced Manufacturing Pathways (AMP) Program. Modeled after Georgia Tech’s Rural CS Initiative, AMP empowers schools with faculty expertise, cutting-edge equipment, and a hands-on curriculum to give students early exposure to the tools, technologies, and creativity behind modern manufacturing while building a pipeline of future talent ready to thrive in high-tech careers.

Funded by the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission (SWGRC), AMP is kicking off in three school districts this fall — Decatur County, Thomas County, and the city of Thomasville  — with plans to expand to additional schools in the spring of 2026. The program will start by engaging more than 200 students through hands-on learning, virtual instruction, and in-person lab experiences led by Georgia Tech researchers and faculty.

“Here in Southwest Georgia, we believe that opportunities like this are vital for integrated learning in schools and for growing our future workforce,” says Beka Shiver, economic development and transportation planner for SWGRC. “Workforce development and K-12 integration are at the heart of our Southwest Georgia Ecosystem Building Project, and we are so pleased to be able to provide funding for this program.”

The launch of the AMP Program is centered around Design, Build, Race, a course putting a modern spin on the classic pinewood derby. Students will use digital design, 3D printing, and machining to build and race custom cars, while also learning how to collect and analyze performance data to improve their designs and predict outcomes. The course blends engineering with data science, sparking curiosity and showing students how modern manufacturing is powered by both technical skills and smart data. 

“This program delivers real-world industry experience to students while strengthening the talent pipeline that drives innovation, competitiveness, and resilience in advanced manufacturing”, says Steven Ferguson, interim director of operations at GTMI and one of the project’s leaders. “After more than 20 years of driving education and workforce development innovation, I’m more energized than ever to help launch the AMP program to open doors for students and advance U.S. manufacturing leadership.”

Building the Blueprint

Before it evolved into the AMP Program, Design, Build, Race was a course developed by GTMI research engineer Kyle Saleeby in 2023. Originating in GTMI’s Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility (AMPF), the course was designed to introduce Morehouse and Georgia Tech students to the possibilities of modern manufacturing through digital design, 3D printing, machining, and competitive creativity.

“Even after the first week, it was powerful to watch students discover how exciting it is to design and manufacture a competition-ready car in a matter of hours,” said Saleeby. “That’s when I knew we were onto something special.”

Saleeby teamed up with Ferguson to transform the course into a broader initiative. The duo engaged colleagues from STEM@GTRI and secured funding from SWGRC to modify the curriculum and scale the course for a high school audience. 

“We are thrilled that we have been able to take the lessons learned during the development of the Rural Computer Science Initiative and expand opportunities for students in Southwest Georgia,” says Sean Mulvanity, a senior research associate in the Georgia Tech Research Institute. Mulvanity is one of the founders of the initiative and has been a key contributor to the AMP Program. “We hope this program can grow and expose students across the state to the field of advanced manufacturing.” 

Though granted by the SWGRC, funds for the program were provided by Georgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing, a statewide initiative founded by GTMI and Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute to advance AI-driven manufacturing.

To bring AMP into classrooms, Southern Regional Technical College helped set up labs and provide technical support, ensuring schools were ready to launch. 

“At all levels, the community has rallied around this program,” says Saleeby. “Providing students with a unique experience learning advanced manufacturing technologies will open countless career opportunities. I cannot wait to see where they go.” 

As the U.S. works to strengthen its industrial base and reshore critical manufacturing capabilities, workforce development has emerged as a central challenge — and opportunity. 

The Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI) recently welcomed its first Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) Fellow to help address this growing need. Lukas Berg, a retiring U.S. Army officer, will be working with GTMI to support new education and training programs aimed at preparing Georgians for careers in advanced manufacturing.

“Lukas Berg brings a unique blend of operational experience, academic insight, and a deep commitment to service,” said Thomas Kurfess, executive director of GTMI. “His perspective will be invaluable as we work to build stronger connections between Georgia’s communities and the advanced manufacturing sector.”

Hiring Our Heroes is a nationwide initiative led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation that helps veterans and military spouses transition into civilian careers through short-term fellowships. Since 2021, Georgia Tech has hosted more than two dozen HOH fellows, beginning with U.S. Army veteran Erik Andersen, who now serves as interim deputy director for the Research, Electronics, Optics, and Systems Directorate at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), where he also helps lead the HOH program. 

Berg is the first fellow to be placed outside of GTRI, a sign of the program’s growing reach across campus and its potential to support a broader range of workforce development efforts.

“It’s been exciting to see how the Hiring Our Heroes program has grown at Georgia Tech,” said Andersen. “Berg’s placement at GTMI reflects the Institute’s commitment to connecting military talent with real-world innovation and workforce development. Veterans bring a unique perspective and skill set to these challenges, and I’m proud to see the program expanding to new parts of campus.”

Berg’s military career includes aviation command roles, teaching positions at West Point and the Joint Special Operations University, and deployments across multiple regions. At GTMI, he will be contributing to a new initiative that partners with rural school districts to introduce students to hands-on learning in advanced manufacturing, an effort designed to spark interest in high-potential career paths and support long-term workforce readiness.

With personal ties to Georgia Tech and a strong sense of purpose, Berg sees this fellowship as a meaningful next step. We spoke with him to learn more about what brought him to GTMI and how he views the role of manufacturing and workforce development in shaping the country’s future.

What inspired you to pursue a fellowship at the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute after your military service?

Last year, I visited Georgia Tech with many of the junior officers and pilots assigned to my helicopter battalion in Savannah. Our agenda included stops at the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute and the Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility, both of which struck me as being absolutely vital to maintaining the technological edge required to fight and win on the modern battlefield. Pursuing a fellowship at GTMI felt like a natural extension of my military service, and I suspected that it would put me back at the intersection of thinkers and doers (where I have always felt most at home). 

You mentioned your grandmother taught at Georgia Tech for over 30 years — how has her legacy influenced your academic and professional journey?

My grandmother, Maria Venable, was the first woman to serve as a full-time faculty member in Georgia Tech’s School of Modern Languages. She poured herself into both her family and her students, and I was lucky to count myself in both populations, as she agreed to tutor me for the AP German exam in high school (but only if I behaved as well as her students at Tech). Her example inspired me to pursue a teaching assignment at West Point halfway through my Army career, and I experienced the same joy in teaching that she did. It’s something that I will continue to do for the rest of my life, whether in a formal or informal capacity.

Can you share more about the specific initiatives you'll be working on at GTMI related to advanced manufacturing education?

Most immediately, I am joining a new GTMI initiative that partners with rural school districts to deliver several weeks’ worth of curriculum and hands-on practice in advanced manufacturing. We just kicked off a pilot program with Bainbridge High School in Decatur, and it’s exciting to see their students leveraging sophisticated systems to design and build Pinewood Derby cars that would make Cub Scouts across the country green with envy. Beyond this initiative, I hope to contribute to other efforts that get young people excited about careers in manufacturing and that assist adult learners in re-skilling and up-skilling for this high-potential industry.

What are you most looking forward to as you begin your fellowship at GTMI?

Georgia Tech feels like a physical and intellectual crossroads of modern civilization. I’m excited to not only contribute as a member of GTMI but also to learn about the countless other departments, institutes, and programs that are convening talent to solve the world’s thorniest problems. 

What skills or insights are you hoping to gain during your time at GTMI that will support your next career chapter?

As an Army officer, I’ve been stationed across the country and deployed around the world, but Georgia has always been home. (Gladys Knight’s “Midnight Train to Georgia” has been a fixture on my playlist since I left for West Point at the age of 17.) Now back with my family, I look forward to using my time at GTMI to learn about my home state and identify ways that I can contribute to its near and long-term prosperity, whether through roles in academia, government, or private industry. I also look forward to expanding my network in all these communities, as no single one has a monopoly on problem-solving.

Why do you believe rebuilding America’s industrial base and manufacturing workforce is critical to national security today?

As a career aviator, much of my professional life was spent agonizing over the availability of parts to repair my helicopters. It seemed like there were never enough, and they always took too long to get to me. This experience, coupled with lessons learned from our support of Ukraine’s self-defense, contrasted starkly with my recent study of America’s 20th-century role as the “arsenal of democracy.” I’m convinced that we need to regain that reputation, and I would like to see Georgia at the forefront of associated design, manufacturing, and education initiatives.  

How do you see veterans playing a unique role in strengthening the U.S. manufacturing workforce?

I think veterans are the most natural candidates in the world for roles in the manufacturing workforce. They possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be successful in most endeavors, but most are looking for ways to extend their service beyond their time in uniform. What better way than to contribute to a field that is so vital to our national security and prosperity?

What does “Progress and Service” mean to you, and what does it mean to you personally to be contributing to that mission?

I love Tech’s motto. I grew up in a family and community that reinforced at every turn the idea that our highest potential as human beings is realized when we serve others. This motivated my choice to serve in the military for the past 20 years, and it remains my North Star for this next chapter. I also love the idea of technological progress being the vehicle by which Georgia Tech collectively serves others, and I hope to accelerate this progress during my time at GTMI. 

If you could give one piece of advice to other service members considering a fellowship like this, what would it be?

Inventory your passions and define your purpose. Then start reaching out to people in related fields. I have been amazed at how generous people have been with their time and how eager they have been to help me find my second calling and related opportunities.

Georgia Tech’s Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) helped transform The Chai Box—a family‑run business born in Marietta—into a nationally recognized brand by guiding them through rigorous food safety audits for retailers like Costco, streamlining production, and boosting their revenue by 20 %. This collaboration not only enabled larger scale success and a feature in Forbes, but vividly illustrated how applied research can turn cultural legacy into commercial opportunities.
Learn more.

Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a new artificial intelligence tool that dramatically improves how companies plan their supply chains, cutting down the time and cost it takes to generate complex production and inventory schedules. 

The tool, known as PROPEL, combines machine learning with optimization techniques to help manufacturers make better decisions in less time. It was created by researchers at the NSF AI Institute for Advances in Optimization, or AI4OPT, based at Georgia Tech under Tech AI (the AI Hub at Georgia Tech).

The technology is already being tested on real-world supply chain data provided by Kinaxis, a Canada-based company that supplies planning software to global manufacturers in industries ranging from automotive to consumer goods.

Vahid Eghbal Akhlaghi, senior research scientist at Kinaxis and former postdoctoral fellow at AI4OPT and the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) at Georgia Tech, said, “Our industry partner has been instrumental in shaping PROPEL’s capabilities. By validating the approach with real operational data, we ensured it addresses true bottlenecks in supply chain planning.”

"PROPEL represents a leap forward in how we tackle massive, complex planning problems," said Pascal Van Hentenryck, lead researcher, the director of Tech AI and the NSF AI4OPT Institute, and the A. Russell Chandler III Chair and Professor at Georgia Tech with appointments in the colleges of engineering and computing. "By combining supervised and reinforcement learning, we can make near-optimal industrial-scale decisions, an order of magnitude faster."

Traditional supply chain planning problems are typically solved using mathematical models that require immense computing power—often too much to meet real-time business needs. PROPEL, short for Predict-Relax-Optimize using LEarning, reduces this burden by teaching the AI model to first eliminate irrelevant decisions and then fine-tune the solution to meet quality standards.

Reza Zandehshahvar, one of the paper’s co-authors and postdoctoral fellow with the NSF AI4OPT and the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) at Georgia Tech, said the breakthrough lies not just in the AI algorithms but in how they're trained and deployed at scale.

“Many AI models struggle when applied to problems with millions of variables. PROPEL was built from the ground up to handle industrial complexity, not just academic examples,” Zandehshahvar said. “We’re seeing real improvements in both solution speed and quality.”

 In trials using Kinaxis’ historical industrial data, PROPEL achieved an 88% reduction in the time needed to find a high-quality plan and improved solution accuracy by more than 60% compared to conventional methods.

While many AI methods in supply chain rely on simulated data or simplified models, PROPEL’s performance has been validated using real-world scenarios, ensuring its reliability in high-stakes operational settings.

The Georgia Tech team says PROPEL could benefit industries that manage large, multi-tiered production networks, including pharmaceuticals, electronics, and heavy manufacturing. The researchers are now exploring partnerships with additional companies to deploy PROPEL in live environments.

Access the abstract on arXiv.