Manufacturing education and research at Texas A&M University: Responding to global trends

This paper presents a current approach in manufacturing education and research at Texas A&M University (TAMU) in response to new trends of manufacturing industry. The revised curriculum reflects the need of engineers with hard skills for technology innovation and soft skills to effectively working with offshore manufacturers. Basic manufacturing is taught and concepts of micromanufacturing are introduced in lower-level courses; micro/nano manufacturing with interdisciplinary applications is covered in higher-level courses. Research emphasis is on micromanufacturing of robust microsystems to enhance macrosystems on one hand and to help developing nanotechnology on the other hand.