The appointment of Professor David E. Hardt as Engineering Co-Director of the Leaders for Manufacturing Program (LFM) has been announced by Professor John B. Vander Sande, acting dean of engineering. Professor Hardt succeeds Professor Thomas W. Eagar, who became head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in January.
The LFM program is an educational and research partnership that links the School of Engineering and the School of Management with 12 major US manufacturing firms. It was established to help increase US competitiveness in global markets. It offers a dual-degree program in which students earn a master of science degree in engineering and one in management. It also coordinates nine research programs involving broad MIT faculty and industry participation. Since the inception of LFM in 1988, more than 220 students have graduated from MIT through participation in the LFM Fellows Program. Most have assumed leadership positions in US manufacturing firms.
Professor Hardt has been a member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering since 1978 and served as director of the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity from 1985 to 1993. He had been acting co-director of the LFM program since July 1994 while Professor Eagar was on sabbatical leave.
Professor Hardt received the BSME (1972) from Lafayette College and the SM (1974) and PhD (1978) from MIT. He is a leader in the field of manufacturing process control and has developed several new processes in the sheet-forming and welding areas based on novel machine-design and process-control methods. His current work focuses on full-scale development of highly responsive forming systems for aerospace and automotive applications.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on September 13, 1995.
