ABOUT US
The Ohio Energy & Advanced Manufacturing Center (OEAMC) is a 501c3 Tax Exempt Non-Profit Corporation dedicated to assisting manufacturing companies in becoming more competitive in the emerging advanced manufacturing business arena. The OEAMC is a true public-private partnership with a Board of Directors that represents private industry, higher education and local government as recommended in the United States National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing. The long term goal of the center is to assist U.S. manufacturing companies with their industry-driven research and development activities. The anticipated outcomes of our activities include:
- Growth of existing companies by re-shoring American jobs
- Commercialization of new technologies
- Creation of new companies
- Creation of new jobs
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Honorable David J. Berger
Mayor of the City of Lima
Dave, a native of Mansfield, Ohio, moved to Lima in 1977 to become the Executive Director of Rehab Project, which renovated several hundred houses. He worked in that position until August 31, 1989 when he resigned to campaign in the City of Lima’s General Election for the position of Mayor. The Berger Administration has a highly successful track record of creating positive community change. Dave was re-elected in the November 3, 2013 general election to an unprecedented 7th four year term as Lima’s Mayor. Dave has a B.A. and M.A. in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America, and a Certificate in Community Economic Development from the Development Training Institute of Baltimore, Maryland.
John Hoffman
Owner and President of Alloway
John Hoffman is the President of Alloway, an environmental laboratory specializing in the analysis of drinking water, wastewater, and solid/hazardous waste. Starting as a one man operation in 1982, Alloway has grown to include three locations in Ohio (Marion, Mansfield, and Lima) and more than 75 employees.
John has over 35 years of experience in the industry. He is a member of various professional organizations, including the Water Environmental Federation, the American Society for Microbiology, American Water Works Association, the Crystal Crucible, and 5S. John holds a Bachelor of Arts in Microbiology/Chemistry and a Master of Arts in Zoology, both from Miami University.
Judith M Cowan
President and CEO of The Ohio Energy & Advanced Manufacturing Center
Judith is the President and CEO of The Ohio Energy & Advanced Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio. Judith started her professional career as the Vice President of The Bank of Leipsic Company where she was responsible for the administration of the lending division of the bank. She also served as the Mayor of the community where she lived. She left banking in 1996 when she was invited by then Ohio Governor George V. Voinovich to join his gubernatorial staff. She served a total of three Ohio Governors before leaving state government to take the position of President and CEO of the Ohio Energy and Advanced Manufacturing Center.
John-David “JD” Yoder, Ph.D
Dean of the T.J. Smull College of Engineering
Ohio Northern University
Dr. Yoder had previously served as Chair and Professor of Mechanical Engineering before accepting the role of Dean of Engineering at Ohio Northern University in 2017. He has been engaged in industry consulting for more than two decades and has 25 years of experience in factory automation and robotics, both in industry and research settings.
His primary research interests center on guidance systems in robotic and automated systems, with a number of patents in this area. He has published numerous articles in scholarly journals, including IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems; Journal of Field Robotics; IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation; and the AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics.
He has been recognized as a winner of the Society of Automotive Engineers Ralph Teetor Educational Award and the KEEN (Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network) Outstanding Faculty award. He has served as an Invited Professor at INRIA, and as a NASA Faculty Fellow. He has received grants at ONU in the areas of intelligent systems and entrepreneurship education.
Dr. Yoder earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame.
Dr. Eric T. Baumgartner
Vice President of Academics at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE)
Dr. Eric T. Baumgartner is the Vice President of Academics at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). Previously, he was the Dean of the T. J. Smull College of Engineering and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Ohio Northern University (ONU) for eleven years. Prior to joining ONU, Dr. Baumgartner spent 10 years at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where he held a number of technical and management positions including a leadership role on the Mars Exploration Rover project that successfully launched, landed and operated the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on the Martian surface. Dr. Baumgartner was honored with the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal in 2004 for his efforts on the Mars rover project and, in May 2008, Dr. Baumgartner, along with two of his colleagues at JPL, was presented with the 2008 IEEE Robotics and Automation Award. Dr. Baumgartner earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame.
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