The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing is excited to announce and invite you to participate in the upcoming NCNGM Summit 2025.

This exciting event will take place at FANUC America Corporation, a leader in automation and robotics, known for its innovative contributions to the manufacturing sector. We are thrilled to be collaborating with the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers (NCATC), an organization dedicated to advancing technology education and workforce development nationwide.

We aim to create a platform that fosters dialogue, innovation, and collaboration among industry leaders, educators, and students. Here are important details to note:

NCNGM Summit 2025

FANUC America Corporation HQ in Rochester Hills, MI

October 15-17, 2025 The National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing is pleased to announce that the following speakers will be in attendance at the

NCNGM Summit 2025

Referred to as the leader of "The New American Manufacturing" Matt Kirchner is an international speaker, author and podcast host on topics of interest to educators, public policy makers and private employers. On a mission to secure the American Dream for the next generation of STEM and Workforce talent, Kirchner hosts the weekly TechEd Podcast^TM and serves as President of ATS/LAB Midwest, the leading distributor of world-class curriculum, eLearning and training equipment.

Kirchner writes monthly leadership columns appearing in Products Finishing and Production Machining magazines and is the author of “Teaching the Industrial Internet of Things: Preparing Students and Learners for Industry 4.0.” Previously Kirchner led three world class manufacturing companies during a 20+ career as an industrial CEO.  He and his partners sold their last company, American Finishing Resources, to DuBois Chemicals in 2014.

Kirchner serves on the boards of directors of several American companies and among his many volunteer activities is currently the First-Past President of the Education Dealers Association and holds a seat on the board of the Smart Automation Certification Alliance.  He is a graduate of the Marquette University School of Business.

Paul Aiello is the Executive Director of Education at FANUC America Corporation. He oversees the Certified Education Training (CERT) segment, providing robotic and automation training to educational institutions throughout the Americas. Aiello leads the “Partners with Education” program, fostering collaboration between industry and education to address the skills gap and build a skilled workforce. His team has developed over 1500 automation and robotics training centers through partnerships with secondary and post-secondary schools and industry training centers in the U.S. This initiative promotes socioeconomic impact by offering affordable educational pathways to diverse students. The group emphasizes community outreach, inclusion, and diversity, connecting industry and academic partners for talent development and recruitment. With over 40 years of experience, FANUC America has contributed over $65 million in the past decade to enhance educational programs for workforce development. Aiello joined FANUC in 1999, bringing over 30 years of experience in business and advanced manufacturing.

Anthony Nighswander is the President and Founder of APT Manufacturing Solutions located in NW Ohio, a multi-division industry leader in creative and effective solutions to manufacturing problems. Anthony is a natural visionary, sought after by many for his ability to see “through” problems and his relentless drive to blaze trails and overcome obstacles. He is a high-energy leader who has guided and influenced many individuals and organizations to go after their dreams and fulfill their purpose. Anthony has a strong passion for training young men and women across America for the “Trades Skills Gap” through HS Training and apprenticeship programs.

Michael Cook is the Rockwell Automation Incorporated, Global Director of the University Partnership Program for Rockwell Automation. He has broad experience in corporate strategy and global business development across emerging markets including EMEA, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. Cook has early career experience as an attorney and advocate of the high court in South Africa with broad professional legal and commercial experience. He also worked for several years post MBA as a management and implementation consultant in a global management consultancy in heavy industries, manufacturing and services as well as an independent consultant in Africa. He then immigrated to the USA and worked at Rockwell Automation in a strategic development role and currently, he is Director University Partnership Program for Rockwell Automation which centers on automation laboratories for engineering competency. Rockwell Automation laboratories strive to reduce the gap between theories and practice as well as the gap between classrooms and manufacturing plants. Rockwell Automation University Partnership Program, cradles education and innovation in science and technology for students around the world across 90 automation labs.

Dr. Suj Chandrasekhar is the founder and principal of Strategic Insights Inc. Strategic Insights specializes in Economic Trends, Market Research, Advanced Analytics, and AI-powered platforms to serve clients in the private and public sectors. Suj has a Ph.D. in Organization Strategy from the University of Iowa. Suj is widely published in a range of business areas in a variety of publications including the Harvard Business Review, the Wall Street Journal, MIT Sloan Review, Forbes among others. Her work in smart manufacturing has been presented at various conferences and hailed as one of the most impactful research series in the field. Strategic Insights has collaborated widely with the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing in this effort. Their research on the State of Smart Manufacturing is now part of the Intelligent Data sets of the World Economic Forum. Strategic Insights and the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing partner on scaling Manufacturing 4.0 in a number of states including Texas, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, California, and others.

Prior to coming to the US, Suj obtained her B.A. in Sociology from Stella Maris College, Chennai and a Masters in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Suj started her career as a Research Analyst in the Media industry. She worked on Customer Engagement Research and Strategic Planning projects for major Media clients including The New York Times and Nielsen Corporation.

In 2000, Suj established Strategic Insights with a focus on research and analytics driven strategic planning, Growth Strategies, and New Product Development. The firm also provides Sales Training for clients in a variety of industries. Suj was one of the contributors to the development of the Challenger Sales training program.

Dayonte Grimes is the Director of the Lapeer Advanced Manufacturing Training Center at Lapeer High School in Lapeer, Michigan. He has been a robotics programmer and systems integrator for more than 10 years. He worked full-time as a robotics programmer for Henshaw Custom Automation in Romeo, Michigan, and still works part-time to keep those industry connections for students, and keep up to date on the upcoming new equipment on the market.

He attended Macomb Community College for Mechatronics while working as a Deputy for the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. He extensive experience with robotic programming, plc (controls) programming, machine vision programming, material handling robots, vision guided robots, arc-welding robots, spot welding robots, safety systems design and CAD design. He accepted the position in Lapeer because he understands how the industry is looking for highly-skilled young people, and knows first hand how lucrative the jobs can be. He shows the students how easy it can actually be to acquire these skills and how much self-satisfaction they can have by learning these new things and achieving new goals. Stay tuned for more announcements and agenda activities. Corrections as of 10/06/2025: Cierra Mitchell and Matthew J. Scott are unable to attend.