Are you interested in programming robots or 3D printing or maybe you're curious about how a simple idea for a part is converted to an electronic sketch on a computer, which is then emailed to numerically controlled machining center, which then produces the part? If so, the digital manufacturing and design technology specialization is for you. Technology is evolving faster than ever before and it's having a huge impact on manufacturing. At the University of Buffalo, we design this 101 level course for anyone interested in how digital advances are changing manufacturing and factory operations nationwide and throughout the world, whether you're a high school graduate figuring out your career interests, a professional contemplating a job change, or a small to medium sized business owners seeking insights, join us on a journey about the 21st century's manufacturing revolution. Because let's face it, customers demand newer products with better features and are not willing to wait long to get the new product in their hands. Take Web-Enabled Services as an example. Fifteen years ago these products saw a three to five-year time to obsolescence, compared to perhaps 14 to 18 months today. What does this mean to manufacturers? They need to reimagine how they take a product from ideation to a useable product into consumers hands, and the product needs to have incredible levels of customization, quality and performance along with the competitive price. The fact of the matter is, with the improvements made in information technology, material sciences, production technologies and supply chain strategies for the past 50 years, we're well positioned to challenge the traditional way products are developed. We are at the initial stages of a new era and the next Industrial revolution popularly termed in Industry 4.0. In this era, we will develop products virtually, bypassing time-consuming and non-value added task associated with traditional methods. The Society of Automotive Engineers estimates that 90 percent of all products will be developed virtually in the coming years. So, how does this new product development process look. You have an idea, you convert the idea into a product and process model, which is virtually tested to make sure it meets customer requirements, and then, wolla! You go into production. It's as simple as that. This is made possible by sharing data and information across all stages of the product life cycle, what is referred to as, the digital thread. We're confident you will find it rewarding and exciting. Most important of all, this specialization will give you the confidence you need to have an intelligent, fact-based dialogue with your friends, colleagues, your organization management either in an informal or formal job interview. The University of Buffalo or UB for short, is a premier research intensive public university and the largest institution in the 64 Campus State University of New York system known as SUNY. SUNY is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States. UB has the largest and most comprehensive public school of engineering in New York state and has long been dedicated to advancing manufacturing capabilities. We do so through entities such as SMART. The Sustainable Manufacturing and Advanced Robotic Technologies community of excellence, which is creating the next generation of technologies, processes in education through interdisciplinary research of regional partners and UB faculty. UB Center for Industrial Effectiveness is another outreach center that supports the business community by delivering operational excellence services, engineering solutions and professional development offerings. We developed this specialization with funding made possible by our sponsor the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute, also known as DMDII. DMDII is part of the manufacturing USA federal initiative. It's a federally funded research and development organization of UI labs that encourages factories across America to adopt digital manufacturing and design technologies. The overall goal is for manufacturers to become more competitive and efficient. In order to keep the content of this specialization relevant and engaging to you, the specialization content was developed in close partnership with our industry partners, Lockheed Martin, Siemens product life cycle management software, MOOG, Buffalo Manufacturing Works, The Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Association for Manufacturing Technology, SAE, Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing. We also acknowledge UB Center for Educational Innovation, Accu-Solve group, and Full Circle Studios for their leadership in facilitating content development and production. University of Buffalo professors are serving as instructors for this specialization. They include Ken English, Shambhu Upadhyaya, Rahul Rai, and Sara Behdad. Keep in mind, this is a 101 level specialization and is not intended to make you an expert. This specialization is designed to help you understand digital manufacturing and design concepts and appreciate them enough so you get an idea of how the subject matter comes together. We welcome you to this specialization and we are confident you will have fun learning about this exciting topic of digital manufacturing and design.