Southwest Research Institute’s Manufacturing Director to Speak at Baylor Research Lecture Series

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Media contact: Lori Fogleman, (254) 710-6275
WACO, Texas (Nov. 11, 2014) -- What can be done to improve the competitiveness of American manufacturers in the global marketplace?
Paul Evans, director of Manufacturing Systems at Southwest Research Institute, will explain this and more at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, during his lecture on enabling American manufacturers. As a part of the “Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC) Foundations: Perspectives from Leaders in Innovation” international lecture series. Evan’s lecture will be held in Room 3160 of the BRIC, 100 Research Parkway in Waco.
"Great innovations are always preceded by great ideas. Great ideas come from people who are both knowledgeable and experienced in their fields but who also think outside the box," said Truell Hyde, Ph.D., vice provost for research at Baylor. "One of the ways the BRIC promotes such innovation is to bring proven visionaries to town to share their perspectives with the rest of us."
The biannual series hosts influential experts from the fields of science and engineering, education, business and industry, public service and administration. Each lecture highlights one of four areas: research, industrial collaboration, work force development and training and economic development and partnerships.
John C. Mather, Ph.D., co-winner with George Smoot, Ph.D., of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics, inaugurated the series in November 2013. In April 2014, Nick Farah, sector president of Platform Systems and division president of Platform Integration for aerospace technology firm L-3 Communications, delivered the second Foundations lecture.
Evan’s lecture will be the third in the series.
Evans is an accomplished innovator in robotics, automation, machine perception and manufacturing process improvement. He has headed development and implementation programs for commercial and government clients that include underwater, mobile and manipulation systems, along with associated control and perception technologies.
Evans also is the director of Southwest Research Institute’s ROS-Industrial Consortium (RIC), a research and development collaboration aimed at advancing automation in the manufacturing sector through cost-sharing.
“This particular event is a combined effort of Texas State Technical College and Baylor University, highlighting the BRIC’S continuing partnership to involve high-technology workforce development and training in the BRIC,” said Jim Kephart, assistant vice provost for research at Baylor University.
The free lecture is open to the public and will be preceded by an informal reception in the entrance to the hall at 5:30 p.m.
by Sarah Czerwinski, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.