Wenlong Zhang, an associate professor in the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks, part of the Fulton Schools, is co-director and a principal investigator for the new Center for Digital Twins in Manufacturing, an ASU and University of Michigan collaboration pursuing ways to optimize manufacturing processes through advances in digital twin technologies. Those advances can enable engineers to better monitor, analyze and improve performance of these technologies to boost precision in manufacturing them. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the center is expected to help achieve advances in smart manufacturing while also educating students in the use of digital twin technology, enabling them to help the U.S. remain competitive in the global economy. Zhang says the project reflects Arizona’s expanding role in advanced manufacturing.