AI and Machine Learning in Manufacturing
Dr. Ram Sriram, Chief, Software & Systems Division, NIST
12-1:30 pm Friday, Febuary 6, 2026
ITE 325b, UMBC (Lunch provided!)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is concerned with the development of computer programs that emulate the intelligence of humans, i.e., AI is deeply concerned with the understanding of human problem-solving strategies and incorporating (or simulating) these strategies into computer programs. Since the 1950s, when the term AI was coined, there has been considerable progress in this area. The 1980s were dominated by the rise of knowledge-based systems, which is also called "the first wave." Advancements in computer hardware facilitated multilayered neural networks, which led to significant improvements in machine learning for certain classes of problems in the 2000s. This was the "second wave."
Now, we are witnessing the "third wave," which will include a combination of neural networks and knowledge structures. In the talk, I will provide a brief overview of AI methods and discuss how these methods can be used to address problems in the Manufacturing sector. Topics will include: the derivation-formation spectrum of problem solving, knowledge-based expert systems, neural networks and other machine learning techniques, and their applications in Manufacturing (Big M).
Dr. Ram D. Sriram is the Chief of the Software and Systems Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology Information Technology Laboratory. He previously served on the engineering faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he founded the Intelligent Engineering Systems Laboratory and initiated the pioneering MIT-DICE project in collaborative engineering. Dr. Sriram has authored or co-authored nearly 300 publications, including several books on Artificial Intelligence, and his work has received numerous best paper and most-cited paper awards. His honors include the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award, the ASME Design Automation Award, multiple Lifetime Achievement Awards, and the IEEE Reliability Society Lifetime Achievement Award (2023). He is a Fellow of ACM, IEEE (Life), AAAS, ASME, AIMBE, and several other professional societies, and currently serves as President-Elect of the Washington Academy of Sciences. Prof. Sriram has also held numerous national leadership roles, including chairing the IEEE Computer Society Fellow Evaluating Committee and serving on federal advisory and steering committees related to AI, software systems, and manufacturing.