Steven Ferguson is a distinguished leader with over 28 years of experience in the technology, manufacturing, higher education, and workforce development sectors. He currently serves as a Principal Research Scientist and Managing Director of Georgia AIM (Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing) at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also the Interim Director of Operations for the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI) and Executive Director of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing 4.0 Consortium. In these roles, Steven leads national initiatives that bring together industry, government, and academia to advance AI-driven manufacturing and workforce innovation.

Steven has played a central role in securing and managing more than $100 million in competitive federal, state, and private funding for technology, research, and workforce programs. At Georgia Tech, he helps guide the expansion of the Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility, oversees programs that integrate AI into manufacturing, and builds partnerships that translate research into practice. Through Georgia AIM, he co-leads efforts that have resulted in over $65 million of investment in statewide projects supporting faculty research, workforce training, and industry engagement.

Previously, Steven dedicated 23 years to the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), where he rose to Chief Information Officer. His tenure included architecting the statewide eCampus platform, pioneering the GEORGIA MATCH program, the nation’s largest direct-to-college admissions initiative, and launching the first micro-credentialing effort for a 2-year college system. These initiatives expanded educational access across Georgia and established new national models for student success and workforce readiness.

Steven’s innovative contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, including Georgia Titan 100 Honoree in 2024 and 2022, Technology Leader of the Year in 2021, and Georgia CIO of the Year in 2019. His digital transformation projects have also been honored with multiple Georgia IT Innovation Showcase Awards.

He holds an M.S. in Information Technology from Southern Polytechnic State University, a B.S. in Information Technology from Columbia Southern University, and an A.S. in Engineering from Gainesville State College. He is also a graduate of TCSG’s Executive Leadership Academy.

Beyond his professional roles, Steven serves on the AI Advisory Council for the State of Georgia and is active in the community. He sits on the Board of Directors for the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and volunteers with nonprofit and educational organizations that strengthen Georgia’s innovation ecosystem.

Dr. Christopher Saldaña began working at Georgia Tech in 2014. Prior, Dr. Saldaña previously held the Harold and Inge Marcus Career Professorship at the Pennsylvania State University and worked as a research engineer at M4 Sciences Corporation. Dr. Saldaña has also previously held visiting affiliations/positions with the US Air Force Research Laboratory, the Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore, India), Technische Universität Dortmund (Dortmund, Germany), Autodesk, and Sandia National Laboratories. He has received several awards, including an NSF CAREER award, the Robert J. Hocken SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer award and an R&D100 Technology Award. He serves as an Associate Editor for IISE Transactions (Design and Manufacturing) and serves on the Editorial Boards of Manufacturing Letters, Computer Aided Design and Applications, and the ASTM Journal of Smart and Sustainable Manufacturing.

Aarn Stebner works at the intersection of manufacturing, machine learning, materials, and mechanics. He joined the Georgia Tech faculty as an associate professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering in 2020.

Previously, he was the Rowlinson Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at the Colorado School of Mines (2013 – 2020), a postdoctoral scholar at the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories of the California Institute of Technology (2012 – 2013), a Lecturer in the Segal Design Institute at Northwestern University (2009 – 2012), a Research Scientist at Telezygology Inc. establishing manufacturing and “internet of things” technologies for shape memory alloy-secured latching devices (2008-2009), a Research Fellow at the NASA Glenn Research Center developing smart materials technologies for morphing aircraft structures (2006 – 2008), and a Mechanical Engineer at the Electric Device Corporation in Canfield, OH developing manufacturing and automation technologies for the circuit breaker industry (1995 – 2000).

Zach Brunson is a Research Engineer in the G. W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, working primarily at the Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility (AMPF). Prior to Georgia Tech, Zach was a graduate teaching fellow and research assistant at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden Colorado where he received his Ph.D. (2021) and M.S. (2019) in Mechanical Engineering studying theoretical and experimental mechanics of inelastic anisotropic and asymmetric materials. Prior to pursuing a graduate degree, Zach gained experience working as a measurements field engineer in the petroleum industry (2013-2015) after earning his B.S. (2013) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado in Boulder Colorado. 

Zach’s research revolves around as manufactured material property prediction, measurement, and certification. The two major thrusts of his research are: (1) theoretical and experimental mechanics of inelastic anisotropic and asymmetric materials and (2) sensor development for process monitoring and part qualification in directed energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing (AM) systems. By developing a more complete understanding of the elastic limits of anisotropic and asymmetric materials, we can better describe both the deformation during manufacturing processes such as forging, forming, or rolling and the final strength of as manufactured (conventionally or AM) components. By developing sensor systems to monitor AM processes such as DED, we can begin to better inform the creation of predictive models, identify critical events related to part performance, improve feedback controls for more reliability and repeatability, and ultimately qualify processes and certify components.

Senior Assistant Director of Research Operations. Responsible for overall AMPF lab research operations, equipment integration, and safety.

Mechanical Specialist. Responsible for equipment maintenance, training, and safety.

George will oversee activities designed to facilitate individual faculty members and teams of researchers in attracting extramural research funding, particularly opportunities with a focus or component involving external partnerships. This proactive and strategic role will allow George to assemble teams for creating collaborative research relationships with HBCUs and other MSIs, industry, government agencies, and other external organizations in order to respond to large-scale research opportunities.

Professor Kurfess began his academic career at Carnegie Mellon University where he rose to the rank of Associate Professor. In 1994, he moved to the Georgia Institute of Technology where he rose to the rank of Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. In 2005, he was named Professor and BMW Chair of Manufacturing in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research. In 2012, he returned to Georgia Tech as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the HUSCO/Ramirez Distinguished Chair in Fluid Power and Motion Control.

During 2012-2013, Dr. Kurfess was on leave serving as the Assistant Director for Advanced Manufacturing at the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President of the United States of America. In this position he had responsibility for engaging the Federal sector and the greater scientific community to identify possible areas for policy actions related to manufacturing. He was responsible for coordinating Federal advanced manufacturing R&D, addressing issues related to technology commercialization, identifying gaps in current Federal R&D in advanced manufacturing, and developing strategies to address these gaps. During  2019-2021 he was on leave serving as the Chief Manufacturing Officer and the Founding Director for the Manufacturing Science Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he was responsible for strategic planning in advanced manufacturing.

Professor Kurfess has served as a special consultant of the United Nations to the Government of Malaysia in the area of applied mechatronics and manufacturing, and as a participating guest at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in their Precision Engineering Program. He has testified in a number of patent cases, including testifying at the International Trade Commission (ITC). He is currently the President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and also serves on the Board of Governors of ASME. He is the CTO of the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) and serves on its Board of Directors. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), and on the Board of Trustees of the MT Connect Institute. He served on the Board of Directors for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and was the President of SME in 2018. He is an appointed member of the Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Advisory Committee for Nuclear Security, and an appointed member of the Department of the Navy Science and Technology Board.

His research focuses on the design and development of advanced systems targeting the automotive sector (OEM and supplier) including vehicle and production systems. He has significant experience in high precision manufacturing and metrology systems. He has received numerous awards including a National Science Foundation (NSF) Young Investigator Award, an NSF Presidential Faculty Fellowship Award, the ASME Pi Tau Sigma Award, SME Young Manufacturing Engineer of the Year Award, the ASME Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award, the ASME Gustus L. Larson Award, an ASME Swanson Federal Award, and the SME Education Award. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the AAAS, the SME and the ASME.

Melkote began at Tech in 1995 as an Assistant Professor. Prior to this, he was a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he conducted research in Machining and Machine Tools Systems in the group led by the Late Professor Richard E. DeVor and Professor Shiv G. Kapoor