Omron Corp. has gifted over $1 million to Marquette to establish the Omron Advanced Automation Lab in the Opus College of Engineering, which will further strengthen the connection between engineering and business by combining innovative industrial automation and robotics technology with supply chain platforms.
The gift will establish the lab and support the mechanical engineering graduate program and an endowed scholarship.
“Our partnership with Omron Automation on the Omron Lab will add greatly to the transformational educational experience offered by Marquette University,” said Marquette President Michael R. Lovell. “This lab is another bridge fostering innovation between the Opus College of Engineering and the College of Business Administration as we look for opportunities to educate and matriculate well-rounded graduates and innovators in their fields.”
“We are excited to partner with Marquette University on their innovative programs that bridge the engineering and business fields,” said Robb Black, CEO and COO of Omron Industrial Automation. “The Omron Advanced Automation Lab will combine industrial automation, robotics and advanced manufacturing equipment with supply chain platforms. This will bring together their nationally ranked engineering and supply chain management programs, allowing students to bridge the gap between business and engineering with a state-of-the-art learning space.”
The Omron Advanced Automation Lab will educate both engineering and business students on fundamental and higher levels of how to implement Industry 4.0 into the design, manufacturing and delivery of products. Lab stations will be designed to teach students the foundational building blocks of industrial automation, a manufacturing area where subsystems can be combined to produce a product, and a library of components that will challenge students to identify what components are necessary to complete their tasks.
“We are grateful to partner with Omron for this lab where students will have the opportunity to learn best in an engaged environment that will foster experimentation, innovation and sometimes failure,” said Dr. Philip Voglewede, associate professor of mechanical engineering. “This will not be a showroom of perfection. Students will be allowed to fail and from failure comes understanding, learning and engagement. This lab has an intentional design that will teach students subsystem design and implementation from both a business and the engineering perspective.”
“This investment will not only enable bridging the gap between engineering and supply chain, but also allow for helping local business in reskilling, upskilling and newskilling of existing labor force, given the shortage of skills in advanced manufacturing and supply chain space,” added Dr. Marko Bastl, associate professor of information systems, analytics and supply chain management, and director of Marquette’s Center for Supply Chain Management.
Marquette Business’ undergraduate supply chain management program is ranked 16th by U.S. News and World Report and 12th by Gartner Inc., which also ranked the graduate program 15th. The Opus College of Engineering features nationally ranked undergraduate (131st) and graduate programs (140th) according to the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings. Individually, the mechanical engineering graduate program is ranked 144th.
The Omron Advanced Automation Lab was developed in a collaboration between the Office of Economic Engagement, University Advancement, the Opus College of Engineering and the College of Business Administration at Marquette and Omron Industrial Automation.
About Omron Automation Americas
Omron Automation is an industrial automation partner that creates, sells and services fully integrated automation solutions that include sensing, control, safety, vision, motion, robotics and more. Established in 1933 and currently headed by President Yoshihito Yamada, Omron’s 30,000 employees help businesses solve problems with creativity in more than 110 countries. Learn more at automation.omron.com.
