Federico Sciammarella
Executive Director, Illinois Manufacturing Institute
Dr. Federico Sciammarella is the Executive Director of the Illinois Manufacturing Institute (IMI) at The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he leads efforts to advance AI-enabled manufacturing and next-generation intelligent machine systems. His work focuses on uniting industry, academia, and government to accelerate the adoption of smart, connected manufacturing technologies and strengthen U.S. industrial competitiveness.
Previously, Dr. Sciammarella served as Chief Technology Officer and President at MxD, the U.S. national center for digital manufacturing and cybersecurity, where he helped define and deploy large-scale Industry 4.0 initiatives. He also held academic leadership roles at Northern Illinois University, directing advanced manufacturing research and leading major federally funded programs in additive manufacturing process modeling and control. Earlier in his career, at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa, he led laser materials processing initiatives that translated into commercial technologies. Across his career, Dr. Sciammarella has consistently bridged cutting-edge research with real-world manufacturing impact at scale.