Steve Willingham, president of FCDI, will be facilitating a breakout session Panel Discussion on “Manufacturing the Future” at the Synapse Innovation Summit March 28, at 2pm, in Club 9, Club Level at the Amalie Arena. Special guest on the panel is Dr. Byron Clayton, CEO of the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute (ARM), of which the Foundation for Community Driven Innovation is a member.
ARM Institute was founded at Carnegie Mellon University in January 2017 and now operates as an independent nonprofit. Funded with an $80 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense with the goal of catalizying robotics innovation and expertise to accelerate growth in U.S.-based manufacturing and high value careers, ARM operates as part of the Manufacturing USA network. The institute is supported by an additional $173 million in commitments from more than 120 members and partners in industry, academia, technology, government and economic development groups.
Dr. Clayton previously served as the president and CEO of Research Park Corporation (RPC) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as well as leader of regional innovation clusters in Ohio, which specialized in printed electronics, advanced energy and water technologies. In addition, he has more than 25 years of experience developing, commercializing and implementing advanced manufacturing systems and software for various industries. During that time, he facilitated the market entry of more than 40 high-tech products and systems, published articles in academic and trade journals, and received patents for manufacturing optimization software used by numerous production plants across North America.
We’re honored to have Dr. Clayton join us at the Synapse event, and for him to spend the week with us learning about our 
related efforts here in Tampa Bay, principally through the development of the Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics Center (AMRoC). On Monday, March 26, Dr. Clayton lead the area’s first ARM Institute Regional Workshop, which we hosted at the Hillsborough Entrepreneur Collaborative Center. At that event, we were joined by Dr. Clayton, Bob Grabowski, Deputy Chief Technical Officer of ARM Institute, and the Institute’s Regional Relationship Manager, who shared more about ARM Institute goals and resources for small to medium sized manufacturers.
We’ll be exploring the state of 21st century manufacturing during the 2pm Panel Discussion at the Synapse Innovation Summit on March 28th. Joining Dr. Clayton on the panel is:
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- Greg Serio –CEO, People of Manufacturing
- Rich Alvarez –Director of Workforce Development , Pinellas Ex-Offender Reentry Coalition (PERC)
- Lara Sharp – Program Director, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Building ArtsSt. Petersburg College—Clearwater Campus
- Jay Johnson – Director of Operations , Electro Mechanical Solutions, Inc. –
If you’re at the Synapse Innovation Summit on March 28th, please join us for this important and informative panel discussion to get an updated look at the current and future state of Manufacturing in Tampa Bay and the nation.You can download the Synapse 2018 app for full event info via the App Store and Google Play store. Search using “Synapse 2018” or follow these links to download on the App Store or Google Play.