Research Centers and Initiatives

The Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering currently houses one research center and provides support for several other interdisciplinary centers and research initiatives.

Center for e-Design

The Center for e-Design is a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) led by Dan Finke, a research associate in the Applied Research Laboratory. It is supported by eight university partners: Brigham Young University, Iowa State University, Oregon State University, Penn State, University at Buffalo–SUNY, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Wayne State University.

The Center for e-Design is a cooperative research center combining industry needs with academic resources to produce more efficient, effective, and collaborative electronic design processes and tools. The center is committed to resolving these challenges through creative and innovative research. Center activities focus on fundamental research, research test beds, engineering education, and technology transfer.

Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition

The Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition (CIMP-3D) at Penn State is a world-class resource for advancing and deploying additive manufacturing (AM) technology for engineering components. With a broad mission to advance and deploy AM technology of metallic and advanced material systems to industry, CIMP-3D seeks to:

Advance enabling technologies required to successfully implement AM technology for engineered components and structures;
Provide technical assistance to industry through selection, demonstration, and validation of AM technology as an “honest broker;” and
Promote the potential of AM technology through training, education and dissemination of information and new AM knowledge.

Located in Building 230 the Innovation Park area of the University Park campus, CIMP-3D is operated by Penn State and the Applied Research Laboratory.

Paul Morrow Professor in Engineering Design and Manufacturing Tim Simpson serves as co-director of the center.

Center for Health Organization Transformation

The Penn State Center for Health Organization Transformation (CHOT) focuses on advancing the transformation of health systems and creating healthcare solutions through cross-disciplinary research, education, and outreach.

Housed in 345 Leonhard Building, Penn State CHOT is part of a National Science Foundation I/UCRC that aims to advance knowledge and practice of transformational strategies in evidence-based management, information technology, clinical practice, and organizational learning through cooperative research among universities, health systems, and other health-related industries.

The center is run by Hui Yang, Harold and Inge Marcus Career Associate Professor.

Consortium for Digital Enterprises

The Consortium for Digital Enterprises (CODE) at Penn State focuses on research and education in digital transformation. Broadly, the areas of interest for the CODE include the following:

Develop and disseminate digital transformation trends pertaining to the four pillars of Digital Enterprises: Process, People/Culture, Finance, and Technology
Identify and drive digital transformation innovation in specific domains of interest including Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Healthcare, Energy for sustainable future along with emerging topics such as Machine Learning and Block Chain
Initiate digital transformation research opportunities between Penn State and industry

The EIC is chaired by Professor Vittal Prabhu.

Initiative for Sustainable Electric Power Systems

Established in 2014 by researchers Uday Shanbhag and Mort Webster (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences), the Initiative for Sustainable Electric Power Systems (ISEPS) is an interdisciplinary research initiative that aims to address the difficulties that emerge from the design, planning, and operation of the next generation of power systems and markets.

ISEPS is funded by the Earth and Mineral Sciences Institute and brings together university faculty from a variety of disciplines — including engineering, economics, earth sciences, and agricultural sciences — to develop innovative research projects that are centered on sustainable electric power.

The initiative hosts workshops, allows for joint advising of students, and facilitates collaboration on research projects as it works to garner enough support to house its own laboratory space and facilities.

Service Systems Engineering Initiative

The mission of the Service Systems Engineering Initiative is to contribute to the strategic goals of the the College of Engineering and the Marcus department by enhancing engineering students’ fundamental educational experience; raising awareness of societal challenges in the United States (where 80 percent of the workforce is employed in the service sector); accessing the entrepreneurial opportunities of the sector; and collaborating with industry and alumni partners to improve the productivity and quality of the service sector.

The initiative is spear-headed by Professor Vittal Prabhu.