Azer to head ARI's Advanced Manufacturing Initiative

Technology expert with decades of industry experience to lead program in manufacturing for Illinois Applied Research Institute

Improving and advancing the state of manufacturing science is a top national and Illinois priority. The Illinois Applied Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is contributing to that vision with the launch of a strategic focus in manufacturing science. This program will advance R&D in digital manufacturing, intelligent machining processes, smart factory applications, and defense systems.

To lead this program, the ARI is proud to announce that Magdi Azer, an industry veteran with decades of technical and business management experience, will be joining its team as associate director for manufacturing science. Azer started his career at GE Aviation, where he served as the program manager for its Laser Shock Peening program before moving to GE Global Research, where he managed the Laser Applications and Laser & Metrology Systems labs.

He most recently served as business development manager for GE Global Research where he was responsible for coordinating manufacturing, software, and aviation propulsion teams to identify and build technical collaborations and development technology.

As a liaison between GE and outside business and university partners, Azer worked closely with Chicago’s UI Labs to craft the proposal that helped it win $70 million in funding for the creation of the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute.

Azer expressed his excitement about joining the ARI team, “I look forward to getting to work building a complete program in advanced manufacturing and contributing to the growth of the organization. I believe we will make a significant positive impact not only on the campus and our customers, but also the community via investments in tech and human capital.”

The ARI views Azer’s ability to navigate technical and business development waters as emblematic of the sort of person it needs to head its efforts in advancing manufacturing science. His years managing labs and performing hands-on research along with his experiencing directing large multi-million dollar research efforts is testament to that. ARI Director Jeff Binder said, “We are extraordinarily pleased that Magdi is joining us here at the ARI. His deep technical background, industrial experience, and demonstrated leadership in the advanced manufacturing space will be important to both the ARI and the University of Illinois campus vision.”

Moreover, Azer’s arrival in Champaign-Urbana will be something of a homecoming: he earned his MS and PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1996 and 1989, respectively.
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