ANN ARBOR—On July 23-26, the University of Michigan College of Engineeringwill host an event promoting international research into manufacturing systems automation. The event, called the 2000 Japan-USA Symposium on Flexible Automation, will be held at the Michigan League.

Keynote speakers for this biennial gathering will include Mineo Hanai, director of the Production Engineering Group at Japan’s Denso Corporation, and Shamel Rushwin, vice president of vehicle operations at Ford Motor Company.

Paper presentations are a key element of the symposium, and will address such subjects as virtual manufacturing, life-cycle engineering, reconfigurable machining systems, robotics, and process and machine diagnostics. Awards will be given to recognize the most promising young investigator in flexible automation, the symposium’s outstanding investigator, and the author of the best paper.

Participants who arrive early may participate in a pre-symposium tutorial, titled “Virtual Concurrent Engineering Over the Internet,” which will be conducted by Paul Ranky, research professor in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. This tutorial will occupy the morning of July 23, the day before the symposium opens.

After the symposium concludes, tours will be conducted at various engine, transmission, and parts-making facilities of DaimlerChrylser Corporation, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, and Lamb Technicon Machining Systems.

Participants may register for the full, three-day package or may attend a single day of their choosing. A registration form and complete program may be accessed at www.engin.umich.edu/prog/pim/2000JUSFA/reg_form.html.

For more information, contact the symposium secretary, Henia Kamil, at the U-M Program in Manufacturing, 1539 H. H. Dow Building, 2300 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2136; phone (734) 764-3071; fax (734) 647-0079; [email protected].

Contact: Patricia Majher Phone: (734) 647-7089 E-mail: [email protected]

College of Engineering