Abstract: The U.S. manufacturing sector is fundamental to the national energy industrial base, supporting energy generation, distribution, and end-use. However, challenges related to high-performance materials, secure supply chains, digital agility and workforce threaten its capacity to support modern energy systems. Smart manufacturing offers a transformative approach to designing, producing, and delivering energy technologies to overcome these strategic obstacles.
This presentation will detail the DOE's Smart Manufacturing portfolio and strategy, showcasing impactful projects and future funding opportunities. We will also highlight resources supporting the ecosystem and fostering collaborations, such as national lab user facilities, relevant consortia, and Manufacturing USA institutes that provide capabilities for scaling smart manufacturing solutions.
Biography: Dr. Huijuan Dai serves as the Supervisory Program Manager for the Next Generation Materials & Processes Program in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO). Her portfolio includes research, development, and pilot demonstrations for technologies that cover smart manufacturing, additive manufacturing, high performance computing, cyber security for manufacturing, and advanced materials. Dr. Dai’s responsibilities include oversight of three Manufacturing USA institutes and two user facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Before joining DOE, Dr. Dai spent 10 years at GE driving industry research and technology development across energy, aerospace and transportation sectors. She played a key role in shaping the vision and technology strategies for advancing and implementing emerging technologies and high-value advanced manufacturing opportunities. She has a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Leicester in the UK, and an MBA from the University of South Carolina.