Whither Manufacturing and Operations Research

This paper is based on opening remarks made at the First Joint US/German Conference on New Directions for OR in Manufacturing. It was an honor to be invited to make those opening remarks, and an additional honor to have the opportunity to include them in these proceedings. In this paper, we explore the current status of manufacturing technology in the United States, describe a vision of next-generation manufacturing systems, and discuss ongoing research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in support of U.S. industry’s efforts to achieve that vision. In addition, we discuss some of the history of the operations research (OR) profession, make some observations concerning its present state of health, and comment on the important role OR professionals can play in this national effort to help U.S. industry survive and thrive in the next century.