CSI2026

Keynote Speakers

Biography: Dragos Axinte is Professor of Manufacturing Engineering at University of Nottingham, UK. Graduated at University of Galati, Romania, after working in industrial research for eight years, he held two personal NATO Research Fellowships in Italy and Denmark and then moved to UK to carry out research with University of Birmingham and later with University of Nottingham. He was appointed Lecturer in Manufacturing Engineering (2005) and successively promoted to Associate Professor (2007), Reader (2010) and Professor (2011). Since 2009 Dragos is Director of The Rolls-Royce UTC in Manufacturing and On-Wing Technology at University of Nottingham. He is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture as well of the Journal of Materials Processing Technology and Fellow of International Academy of Production Engineering. Dragos has over 200 journal papers and over 40 granted international patents filed mainly with Rolls-Royce. Dragos research interest is in the following main areas: Advanced machining technologies with emphasis on in-depth analysis of workpiece surface integrity; innovative tooling and fixturing systems; and development of portable machine tools and specialist robotics for in-situ repair and maintenance of high-value industrial assets.

Biography: Prof. Volker Schulze studied Mechanical Engineering at University of Karlsruhe with majors in materials science and engineering mechanics. He did his PhD in materials science in the field of shot peening and fatigue. After that he became group leader of the group Manufacturing and Component Behaviour in Materials Science and Engineering and did a lot of work in relations of manufacturing processes and the resulting surface states, mainly related to heat treatment and mechanical surface treatments. This lead to a habilitation in 2004 on Surface Layer States after Mechanical Surface treatments. Since 2010 he is director of the Institute of Production Science (wbk) as well as Institute of Applied Materials at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and broadened his applications to machining and additive manufacturing. He is much engaged in CIRP as Fellow and Vice-Chair of the STC Cutting and provided keynotes at the STC Surfaces on Machine Hammer Peening and Surface Conditioning in Cutting Processes.

Biography: Albert Shih is Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. He received PhD from Purdue University and was a manufacturing engineer at Cummins and an Associate Professor at NC State University before joining the University of Michigan in 2003. He served in the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office in 2017 and was the President of NAMRI SME from 2019-2020. Dr. Shih’s research is in manufacturing. He is a pioneer of biomedical manufacturing – the application of manufacturing technologies (processes, systems, and quality control) to advance the safety, efficacy, quality, cost, and speed of healthcare service and biomedical research. He is the recipient of the Fulbright Scholar; ASME Milton Shaw Manufacturing Research Medal, Blackall Machine Tool & Gage Award, and William Ennor Manufacturing Technology Award; and SME Taylor Research Medal and Education Award. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering. Professor Shih is a Fellow of ASME, SME, and CIRP.