Dear Members,

​

First, I want to thank the International Academy of Engineering and Technology (AET) and its Council for allowing me to serve as the President of this great organization. It is indeed an honor and privilege for me to follow in the footsteps of our founding President Dr. Fengzhou Fang. AET has been fortunate to have a visionary like him who has contributed in many ways and at many levels to the advancement of manufacturing science and engineering. He was passionate, gracious, energetic, and thoughtful in leading AET since its inception in a stellar fashion. With your help, I will try my best to continue in the same spirit.

​

AET was formed with the help of individuals who were motivated and persistent in establishing a leading platform for sharing the latest scientific and technological achievements and developments in academia, research institutions, and industry and promoting international collaboration to facilitate technology transfer and accelerate industrial applications. AET’s vision is based on the precept of the Three Paradigms of Manufacturing Advancement ranging from craft, and controlled precision to atomic and close-to-atomic scale manufacturing (ACSM) with an impact on various engineering activities. The latter is emerging as the fundamental technology of the new manufacturing paradigm (Manufacturing III), one of the leading technologies of the 21st century, underpinned by unprecedented advances in digital technologies.

​

Second, I envision with your help and the help of our Council to continue the growth of AET in three principal directions to respond to the radical changes that are taking place in science and technology by positioning itself at the forefront of scientific, technological, and manpower developments. Specifically:

​

MEMBERSHIP: Membership development and engagement must always be at the heart of our organization. It is through our membership that we will have the ability to influence and shape the manufacturing landscape and the role that it plays in society. Our membership efforts will have to be equally focused on individuals and institutions. At the individual level, opportunities for the betterment and advancement in the careers of the most junior to the most experienced professionals from industry and academia need to be created. At the institutional level, R&D collaborations amongst academia, research institutions, and industries where joint research programs can be formulated for mutual benefit should be fostered.  We must do our best to make all members proud and benefit from their association with AET.

​

INNOVATION & COLLABORATION: To improve the lives of people in our societies and live in harmony with our environment, we, as an organization, need to innovate and shape all aspects of the future of manufacturing science and engineering ranging from energy and transportation, through healthcare and food, to housing. This can take place through the contributions of our membership through new knowledge generation, collaboration, and technology transfer. A principal vehicle for AES to achieve this is to further expand the reach and impact of our successful AETS symposia by encouraging a wider dissemination of the presented content into high-impact archival journals and industry. The Council will explore mechanisms to achieve this.

​

EDUCATION: Just as innovation and collaboration will define our impact and future, so will the engineers and workforce we train. We are incredibly well-positioned and fortunate to not only have world-leading researchers but also leading educators as our members. Even a cursory look at the list of AES Fellows suggests that AES has a very strong base with visionary educational leaders. Our mission will be to support, enrich, and advance manufacturing engineering education and those who teach. Plausible vehicles to consider include the revival of the AET seminar series on a regular basis and the offering of specialized short courses for young researchers and engineers from academia and industry.

​

The AET Council will meet in early spring for a planning and brainstorming session. I want to encourage all our members to send us suggestions and ideas to consider since only through collaboration and remaining true to our values can we advance the mission of AET. Please share your ideas and insights with us by writing to info@aet-ac.org. We will be checking this email account regularly and it will be my and the Council’s responsibility to facilitate the transformation of great viable proposals into reality. We have an exciting future ahead of us to create a leading organization for the 21st century.

​