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Event Overview

You keep hearing that AI will change manufacturing. What you rarely hear is where to start. Manufacturing Day at the Missouri Protoplex is built for Missouri's small and mid-size manufacturers who want practical answers, not buzzwords. Spend the day with fellow manufacturers and Missouri S&T experts, and leave knowing what advanced manufacturing and AI can actually do for your business, and the concrete first step to get there.

Register for Manufacturing Day
  • Owners and executives of small and mid-size manufacturers
  • Plant managers and operations leaders
  • Engineering, quality, and production leaders
  • Manufacturers curious about AI and advanced manufacturing, at any stage
  • Trade associations and economic development partners 
  • Date: Friday, October 9, 2026
  • Time: 9 am – 4 pm (registration and coffee from 8:30 AM)
  • Location: Missouri Protoplex, Rolla, Missouri
  • Format: In-person; registration required
  • Cost: Free to attend; lunch, tours, and hands-on sessions included 

Campus map

Advanced Manufacturing & AI: From Conversation to Project

Host: Missouri S&T, Advanced Manufacturing Protoplex
Date: Friday, October 9, 2026

  1. Arrival, Registration & Coffee (8:30 am - 9 am)
  2. Welcome & Greetings (9 am - 9:10 am)
    • Dr. Kamal Khayat, VCRI
  3. Meet the speaker
  4. Becoming More Competitive: How Protoplex Works with Manufacturers to Adopt Advanced Manufacturing & AI (9:10 am - 9:25 am)

    How companies can use Protoplex to adopt advanced manufacturing and AI and strengthen their competitiveness, with real examples.

    • Dr. Richard Billo, Director, CAM and Missouri Protoplex
  5. Meet the speaker
  6. Keynote — AI for Manufacturers: What’s Real, and Where to Start (9:25 am - 10:10 am)

    Practical AI for small and mid-size manufacturers.

    • Dr. Jay Park, Chair of Computer Science
  7. Meet the speaker
  8. Break (10:10 am - 10:25 am)
  9. Featured talk — From AI Hype to Manufacturing Advantage (Boeing) (10:25 am - 10:55 am)

    Where AI is heading in aerospace & defense production and what it means for smaller suppliers.

    • Jerry Gravitt, Director Program Manager Production IPT, Boeing
    • Ben Fjellanger, Executive Director Advanced Production System Technology, Boeing
  10. Meet the speakers
  11. Featured talk — A manufacturer's view (Southern Cast Products) (10:55 am - 11:20 am)

    A foundry president's take on AI and advanced manufacturing for a shop like yours.

    • Doug Imrie, President, Southern Cast Products
  12. Company Panel — The Real Challenges Manufacturers Face with AI (11:20 am - 12:10 pm)

    Companies surface challenges; Missouri S&T responds.

    • Moderator
      • Dr. Ming Leu, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, Keith & Pat Bailey Missouri Professor and Curators’ Distinguished Professor, Director of Innovative Smart & Additive Manufacturing (ISAM) Laboratory
    • Panelists
      • Dr. Aaron Birt, CEO,Solvus Global
      • Dr. Robert Burns, Vice President and Co-Founder, Patriot Machine, Inc.
      • Chad Myers,Executive Vice President, SRC Holdings Corporation
      • Tyler Kemp, Founder & CEO, MK Machining
  13. Meet the speakers
  14. Working Lunch + Posters & Demos (12:10 pm - 1:30 pm)
  15. Solution Sessions: Where Do I Start? (1:30 pm - 2:30 pm)

    Proposed topics

    • Getting Started with AI
      • Dr. Seung-Jong Park, Chair of Computer Science
      • Doug Imrie, President, Southern Cast Products
    • Automation & Robotics
      • Dr. Douglas Bristow, Professor and Director, Center for Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies
      • Brad Hellebusch, Mechanical Engineering Manager, Melton Machine & Control 
    • Quality & Inspection
      • Dr. Monday Okorokonko Associate Professor and Interim Director AMC
      • Flavia Dsouza, Head of Quality, Sentio Biosciences 
    • Using AI safely: protecting your data, IP, and compliance
      • Dr. Maciej Zawodniok, Associate Professor in ECE
      • Dr. James Fonda, Technical Fellow, Boeing Additive Manufacturing Intelligence Center 
    • Workforce & Training
      • Bradley Deuser, Assistant Research Professor, Protoplex Operations Manager
      • Robert Randolph, Executive Director Robert W. Plaster Center for Advanced Manufacturing, Ozarks Technical Community College 
  16. Protoplex Open House (2:30 pm - 3:30 pm)
    • Protoplex Team
  17. Closing — From Conversation to Project (3:30 pm - 4 pm)

    Report-back, ways to engage, interest cards, next steps.

    • Chair (Industry Engagement)
  • Missouri Association of Manufacturers (MAM)
  • Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC)

About Manufacturing Day

This Event is Designed to

  • Make AI and advanced manufacturing practical for Missouri's small and mid-size manufacturers.
  • Showcase real-world applications through industry perspectives, demonstrations and discussions.
  • Help manufacturers identify opportunities to address challenges and improve competitiveness.
  • Connect manufacturers with Missouri S&T expertise and resources.
  • Bring manufacturers and experts together to share challenges, ideas and solutions.
  • Help turn conversations into potential projects and next steps.

Attendee Benefits

Why Attend

Get practical insights, real-world examples and direct access to experts who can help you identify where advanced manufacturing and AI can make a difference for your business.

  • Learn what AI and advanced manufacturing can actually do for your business.
  • Identify practical first steps to improve productivity, quality, efficiency and competitiveness.
  • Hear from manufacturers about real-world applications, challenges and opportunities.
  • Connect with Missouri S&T faculty, engineers and Protoplex team members about your needs.
  • Explore practical solutions in AI, robotics, quality, data integration and workforce development.
  • Leave with a clearer understanding of your opportunities and next steps.