94-05262 Williams The five participating universities in the Southern California region, in cooperation with the California Engineering Foundation, the California Manufacturing Technology Center, and the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, will form the Southern California Coalition for Education in Manufacturing Engineering to develop outstanding, well-integrated, practice-oriented, ABET-accredited undergraduate programs in manufacturing engineering in this area containing a high concentration of manufacturing industries. The program is expected to play a significant role in the reindustrialization of the Los Angeles area. The Coalition will focus on the long-term, systemic reform of undergraduate manufacturing engineering education across the curricula, enhancing existing manufacturing-related baccalaureate degree programs and creating new degree programs and degree options related to manufacturing that emphasize this integrated approach focusing on Integrated Product Development. These efforts will include curricula modernization, developing closer ties with industry, exchanges of instructors, utilization of active professionals working in industry to teach classes, use of industry facilities, university/industry team teaching, and promoting knowledge transfer from industry to academia and greater awareness of manufacturing engineering as a challenging discipline. These program will emphasize quality as a key element in the conduct and administration of the academic program and quality concepts integrated throughout the curricula. ***
