THE FUTURE OF MAKING

Digital Fabrication Symposium for Designers, Makers, Users & Educators

FEBRUARY 20 - 21, 2017

As more and more emerging technologies saturate our daily lives, many industries today are facing urgent challenges in seeking the most fitting talents and best practices in transitioning from traditional manufacturing approaches. Many organizations in the textile and apparel industry (TA) are integrating a variety of digital fabrication methods in order to achieve more efficient, sustainable and customized production processes which may ultimately disrupt the current TA supply. However, these new production methods require interdisciplinary knowledge/skill, yet are not fully explored and researched within academia in supporting industry advancement and curriculum development for future talents.

The Future of Making Symposium, sponsored by the Department of Consumer and Design Sciences at Auburn University, creates an opportunity for conversation among key stakeholders in this digital transition by bringing together TA industry representatives and scholars both inside and outside of TA fields. We aim to understand the needs/interests of the stakeholders and discuss ways emerging technologies (such as 3D CAD for apparel, 3D printing, smart manufacturing, etc.) will impact the future of TA manufacturing for designer, maker, and user. Our goal is also to help educators identify obstacles and explore collaboration approaches in the current research and curriculum in order to better prepare students for the rapidly evolving industry.

For more information contact Lushan (Sarina) Sun, Ph.D. • sarinasun@auburn.edu • (334) 844-3789