It’s a critical moment in manufacturing when digital technologies are changing the face of the production floor, and small businesses in the U.S. defense industrial base have been dwindling over the last decade. Department of Defense (DoD) partner Manufacturing x Digital (MxD) is committed to building a strong and resilient manufacturing industry for the future and has welcomed Dr. Jocelyn M. Seng, retired two-star Air Force Major General and mechanical engineer, to its board of directors.
Dr. Seng has lengthy military and civilian experience, with her military career centered around weapon systems development. She concurrently maintained a parallel civilian career, which included more than 10 years as a patent-holding research scientist at Owens Corning. For the past 15 years, Dr. Seng has consulted on national security strategy at the Institute for Defense Analyses, a national security policy think tank.
Dr. Seng graduated from Massachusetts Institute for Technology with a bachelor’s and master’s in mechanical engineering and from Stanford University with a doctorate in mechanical engineering. Her technical areas of expertise are in composite materials design, analysis and manufacturing. Dr. Seng is also a distinguished graduate from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, now referred to as the Eisenhower School, National Defense University.
“A strong and resilient manufacturing industry is critical to national defense, and our small- and medium-sized manufacturers are the backbone of our domestic capabilities. The Department of Defense has stated that the number of small businesses in the U.S. defense industrial base has declined by 40% in the last decade, with the risk of losing more suppliers as the need to digitize and secure their operations increases,” said MxD CEO Berardino Baratta. “Dr. Seng’s strong technical background and senior leadership experience in military and civilian positions bring a unique perspective and opportunity to guide our growth and development to ensure MxD meets the needs of the DoD and greater manufacturing industry.”
Dr. Seng who will join other MxD board members, including Billy Bardin, global climate transition director, DOW; Katy George, senior partner and chief people officer, McKinsey & Company; Tony Hemmelgarn, president and CEO, Siemens Digital Industries Software; Mary Isbister, board chair and owner, GenMet Corp.; John Kusnierek, senior vice president, LibertyWorks Research and Technology, Rolls-Royce; Shirish Pareek, chairman & CEO, Adaptec Solutions; Linda Cadwell Stancin, vice president of Air Vehicle Engineering and Technology, Lockheed Martin; Carroll Thomas, director (retired), National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership; and Jay Walsh, vice president for economic development and innovation, University of Illinois.
MxD said it helps innovative manufacturers forge their futures. In partnership with the Department of Defense, MxD equips U.S. factories with the digital tools, cybersecurity and workforce expertise needed to begin building every part better than the last. As a result, its nearly 300 partners increase their productivity, win more business and strengthen U.S. manufacturing. MxD is also the National Center for Cybersecurity in Manufacturing as designated by DoD.
