University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Rakesh Nagi
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Biography

Research

Information Fusion

Congestion in Facilities Location and Layout

Facility Layout (Re)Design

Agile Manufacturing

Real-Time Visualization

Sensor Networks

Facilities Design and Cellular Manufacturing

Operations of Production Systems

Variant Design

Teaching

IE 684: Networks, Routing, and Logistics

IE 661: Scheduling Theory

IE 620: Agile Manufacturing

IE 505: Production Planning and Control

IE 504: Facilities Design

IE 500: Special Topics: Logistics and Supply-Chain Management

IE 327: Facilities Design

IE 320: Engineering Economy

Professional Activities

National Science Foundation

CAREER: Design and Implementation of a Knowledge-Based Agile Manufacturing Information System

Description
Objectives
Personnel
Papers and Talks

Description

In the new and emerging Agile Manufacturing paradigm, where multiple firms cooperate under flexible virtual enterprise structures, there exists a much needed mechanism to manage and control information flow among collaborating partners. In response to this pressing need, this research addresses the design and implementation of an agile manufacturing information system integrating manufacturing databases dispersed at various partner sites. We propose a framework in which: (1) Information is modeled in a hierarchical fashion using Object Oriented Methodology (OOM). (2) Information Transactions are specified by the workflow hierarchy consisting of partner workflows. (3) Information flow between partners is controlled by a set of distributed Workflow Managers (WM) interacting with partner knowledge bases, which reflect partner specific information control rules on internal data exchanges, as well as inter-partner protocols for joint partner communications. (4) The prototype system is accomplished using the World Wide Web based on a Client-Server architecture. The overall approach and system provide within a dynamic environment, where virtual partnerships are synthesized in response to specific business initiatives, a dynamic and flexible mechanism to support partner information exchange.

Objectives

Intellectual Merits:

Broader Impacts:

Personnel

Investigators:
Dr. Rakesh Nagi, Associate Professor
Department of Industrial Engineering
State University of New York at Buffalo
342 Bell Hall Box 602050
Buffalo, NY 14260-2050
U.S.A.
Telephone: (716) 645-2357
FAX: (716) 645-3302
E-mail: nagi@eng.buffalo.edu

Graduate Students:
  • Aihu Wang: Ph.D. Student, Department of Industrial Engineering, University at Buffalo
  • Liangyu Zhao: MS Student, Department of Industrial Engineering, University at Buffalo
  • Carol Romanowski: MS Student, Department of Industrial Engineering, University at Buffalo
  • Amol Adgaonkar: MS Student, Department of Industrial Engineering, University at Buffalo
  • Liugen Song: Ph.D. Student, Department of Industrial Engineering, University at Buffalo
  • Lopamudhra Subramanian: MS Student, Department of Industrial Engineering, University at Buffalo
  • Sumaithangi Sriram: MS Student, Department of Industrial Engineering, University at Buffalo
  • Balaji Venkatesan: MS Student, Department of Industrial Engineering, University at Buffalo
  • Bennet Panikacherry: MS Student, Department of Industrial Engineering, University at Buffalo
  • Rahul Bhatia: MS Student, Department of Industrial Engineering, University at Buffalo
  • Yu Wang: Ph.D. Student, Department of Industrial Engineering, University at Buffalo
  • Ana Maria Sarmiento: Ph.D. Student, Department of Industrial Engineering, University at Buffalo
  • Chaewon Bang: Ph.D. Student, Department of Industrial Engineering, University at Buffalo
Papers and Talks

Papers:

Journal Papers:
  • Romanowski, C.J., Nagi, R. and Sudit, M., "Data Mining in an Engineering Design Environment: OR Applications from Graph Matching," accepted to Computers & Operations Research, Dec 2004. Download(PDF)
  • Romanowski, C.J. and Nagi, R., "On Comparing Bills of Materials: A Similarity/Distance Measure for Unordered Trees," IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part A, 2005, Vol. 35(2), pp. 249-260. Download(PDF)
  • Wang, A., Koc, B. and Nagi, R. "Complex Assembly Variant Design in Agile Manufacturing. Part I: System Architecture and Assembly Modeling Methodology," IIE Transactions on Design and Manufacturing, 2005, Vol. 37(1), pp. 1-16. Download(PDF)
  • Wang, A., Koc, B. and Nagi, R. "Complex Assembly Variant Design in Agile Manufacturing. Part II: Assembly Variant Design Methodology," IIE Transactions on Design and Manufacturing, 2005, Vol. 37(1), pp. 17-34. Download(PDF)
  • Kelkar, A., Koc, B. and Nagi, R., "Geometric Algorithms for Rapidly Reconfigurable Mold Manufacturing of Free-form Objects," accepted to Computer Aided Design, March 2004. Download(PDF)
  • Zhou, L. and Nagi, R. "Design of Distributed Information Systems for Agile Manufacturing Virtual Enterprises using CORBA and STEP Standards," Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 2002, Vol. 21(1), pp. 14-31. Download(PDF)
  • Sanchez, L.M. and Nagi, R. "A Review of Agile Manufacturing Systems," International Journal of Production Research, 2001, Vol. 39, pp. 3561-3600. Download(PDF)
  • Bhandarkar, M.P., Downie, B., Hardwick, M. and Nagi, R., "Migration from IGES to STEP: One-to-one Translation of IGES Drawing to STEP Drafting Data," Computers in Industry, 2000, Vol. 41, pp. 261-277. Download(PDF)
  • Bhandarkar, M.P. and Nagi, R., "STEP-based Feature Extraction from STEP geometry for Agile Manufacturing," Computers in Industry, 2000, Vol. 41, pp. 3-24. Download(PDF)
  • Song, L. and Nagi, R., "Design and Implementation of a Virtual Information System for Agile Manufacturing," IIE Transactions on Design and Manufacturing, special issue on Agile Manufacturing, 1997, Vol. 29(10), pp. 839-857. Download(PDF)
  • Iyer, S. and Nagi, R., "Automated Retrieval and Ranking of Similar Parts in Agile Manufacturing," IIE Transactions on Design and Manufacturing, special issue on Agile Manufacturing, 1997, Vol. 29(10), pp. 859-876.
  • Bhandarkar, M.P. and Nagi, R., "STEP Product Information Models in Agile Manufacturing," International Journal of Agile Manufacturing, 1997, Vol. 1(1), pp. 65-75. Download(PDF)
  • Ramabhatta, V., Lin, L. and Nagi, R., "Object Hierarchies to aid Representation and Variant Design of Complex Assemblies in an Agile Environment," International Journal of Agile Manufacturing, 1997, Vol. 1(1), pp. 77-90. Download(PDF)
  • Sarmiento, A.-M. and Nagi, R., "Recent Directions in Integrated Analysis of Manufacturing-Distribution Systems", IIE Transactions on Scheduling and Logistics, special issue on Manufacturing Logistics, p. 1061-1074, vol. 31(11), (1999). Published Download(PDF)
  • Romanowski, C.J. and Nagi, R., "Analyzing Maintenance Data Using Data Mining Methods", Data Mining for Design and Manufacturing: Methods and Applications, Editor: D. Braha, Kluwer Academic Publishers, p.235-254, (2001). Published
  • Romanowski, C.J. and Nagi, R., "Research Agenda for Data Mining-based Support System for Life Cycle Concerns in Variant Design", Data Mining for Design and Manufacturing: Methods and Applications, Editor: D. Braha, Kluwer Academic Publishers, p.235-254, (2001). Published

Conference Papers and Talks:
  • Wang, A. and Nagi, R., "Assembly Variant Design Methodology," 2003 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and R&D Expo, Washington DC, November 2003.
  • Kelkar, A., Koc, B. and Nagi, R., "Rapidly Re-configurable Mold Manufacturing of Free-Form Objects," 8th ASME Design for Manufacturing Conference, Chicago, IL, September 2003.
  • Romanowski, C.J. and Nagi, R., "The Search for Similar Parts in Variant Design," 12th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Portland OR, May 2003.
  • Romanowski, C.J. and Nagi, R., "A data mining and graph theoretic approach to building generic bills of materials," 11th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Orlando FL, May 2002.
  • Romanowski, C.J. and Nagi, R., "A Data Mining Approach to Integrating Product Life Cycle Information in Engineering Design," 10th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Dallas TX, May 2001.
  • Wang, A. and Nagi, R., "Assembly Modeling for Complex Assembly Variant Design," 10th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Dallas TX, May 2001.
  • Wang, A. and Nagi, R., "Framework for Complex Assembly Variant Design in Agile Manufacturing," 10th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Dallas TX, May 2001.
  • Ramabhatta, V., Lin, L. and Nagi, R., "An Object Hierarchy Scheme for Complex Assemblies to aid Information Retrieval and Work Process Database Integration," 6th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Miami, FL, May 1997, pp. 650-655.
  • Bhandarkar, M.P., Downie, B., Hardwick, M. and Nagi, R., "IGES to STEP Translation and Visualization," 6th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Miami, FL, May 1997, pp. 656-661.
  • Bhandarkar, M.P. and Nagi, R., "STEP Product Information Models in Agile Manufacturing," International Conference on Agile Manufacturing ICAM’97, Lafayette, LA, February 1997.
  • Ramabhatta, V., Lin, L. and Nagi, R., "Object Hierarchies to aid Representation and Variant Design of Complex Assemblies in an Agile Environment," International Conference on Agile Manufacturing ICAM’97, Lafayette, LA, February 1997.
  • Nagi, R., "A Graduate Course in Agile Manufacturing," 1996 ASEE Annual Conference, Washington DC, June 1996, on CD-Rom.
  • Song, L. and Nagi, R., "An Integrated Information Framework for Agile Manufacturing," 5th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Minneapolis, MN, May 1996, pp. 568-573.
  • Iyer, S. and Nagi, R., "Identification and Ranking of Similar Parts in Agile Manufacturing," 4th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Nashville, TN, May 1995, pp. 709-718.
  • Gupta, P. and Nagi, R., "Flexible Optimization Framework for Partner Selection in Agile Manufacturing," 4th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Nashville, TN, May 1995, pp. 691-700.
  • Iyer, S. and Nagi, R., "Identification of Similar Parts in Agile Manufacturing," ASME Winter Annual Conference: Concurrent Product Design DE-Vol. 74, Chicago, November 1994, pp. 87-96.
  • Raheja, D., Llinas, J., and Nagi, R., "A Data Fusion-Based Architecture for Condition-Based Maintenance," 14th International Congress and Exhibition on Condition Monitoring and Diagnostic Engineering Management, University of Manchester UK, September 2001.
  • Nagi, R., "CAREER: Agile Manufacturing and Information Systems," NSF Design and Manufacturing Grantees Conference, Tampa FL, January 2001.
  • Romanowski, C.J. and Nagi, R., "Improving Preventive Maintenance Scheduling using Data Mining Techniques," 8th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Phoenix AZ, May 1999.
  • Panikacherry, B.N. and Nagi, R., "An Integrated Framework For Distributed Scheduling And Logistics Management In Agile Manufacturing," 8th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Phoenix AZ, May 1999.
  • Venkatesan, B. and Nagi, R., "An IT-OR Approach to Project Management in an Agile Manufacturing Environment," 8th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Phoenix AZ, May 1999.
  • Bang, C. and Nagi, R., "An Integrated Framework for Process Planning and Shop Floor Scheduling in Agile Cellular Manufacturing," 8th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Phoenix AZ, May 1999.
  • Nagi, R., "Agile Manufacturing Information Systems for Enterprise Integration," NSF Design and Manufacturing Grantees Conference, Los Angeles, CA, January 1999.
  • Venkatesan, B. and Nagi, R., "Decision Support System for Logistical and Assembly Analysis of Rapidly Reconfigurable Complex Assemblies in an Agile Manufacturing Environment," Rensselaer’s International Conference on Agile, Intelligent, and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, Troy, NY, October 1998.
  • Romanowski, C.R. and Nagi, R., "Data Mining Techniques for Preventive Maintenance in Agile Manufacturing," Rensselaer’s International Conference on Agile, Intelligent, and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, Troy, NY, October 1998.
  • Sriram, S.R. and Nagi, R., "A Hierarchical and Dynamic Distribution System for Agile Manufacturing based on Distributed Object Technology," Rensselaer’s International Conference on Agile, Intelligent, and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, Troy, NY, October 1998.
  • Subramanian, L. and Nagi, R., "Workflow Management in Agile Manufacturing Information Systems," 7th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Alberta Canada, May 1998.
  • Sriram, S.R. and Nagi, R., "An Information Technology-Based Dynamic Distribution System for Agile Manufacturing," 7th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Alberta Canada, May 1998.
  • Sarmiento, A.-M. and Nagi, R., "Partnership Selection for Virtual Enterprises from Organizational Webs," 7th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Alberta Canada, May 1998.
  • Nagi, R., " Agile Manufacturing Information Systems for Enterprise Integration," NSF Design and Manufacturing Grantees Conference, Monterrey, Mexico, January 1998.
  • Sarmiento, A.-M. and Nagi, R., "Analysis of a Two-Level Integrated Production-Distribution System," 1996 Conference on Agile and Intelligent Manufacturing Systems, Troy, NY, Oct. 1996.
  • Song, L. and Nagi, R., "A Virtual Information System for Agile Manufacturing Enterprises," 1996 Conference on Agile and Intelligent Manufacturing Systems, Troy, NY, October 1996.
  • Taylor, D.G. and Nagi, R., "Agile Manufacturing in Material Handling and Logistics: Implications and a Research Agenda," 1996 International Colloquium on Material Handling Research, Vught, The Netherlands, June 1996, pp. 9-13.
  • Candadai, A., Herrmann, J.W., Minis, I. and Nagi, R., "Variant Design Critiquing for Agile Manufacturing," NSF Design and Manufacturing Grantees Conference, San Diego, January 1995.
  • Romanowski, C.J. and Nagi, R., "Adaptive data mining in a variant design support system," invited (Computer Information Systems) presentation in the 13th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Houston TX, May 2004.
  • Bang, C. and Nagi, R., "An Object Oriented Information Modeling for Selecting Machines and Tools In an Agile Manufacturing Environment," 10th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Dallas TX, May 2001.
  • Nagi, R., "Information Technology in Manufacturing Enterprises: Research Directions," invited panelist to IIE Manufacturing Division Panel Discussion, IE Research Conference, Cleveland, May 2000 (Moderator: Prabhu, V.; Other Panelists: Sounder Kumara and David Wu).
  • Sarmiento, A.-M. and Nagi, R., "An analytical tool to support the selection of partners from Organizational Webs in Agile Manufacturing," presented in the INFORMS Spring 1999 Conference, Cincinnati, May 1999.
  • Sarmiento, A.-M. and Nagi, R., "Neural Network-based batch scheduling for an integrated agile production-distribution system," invited presentation in the INFORMS Fall 1998 Conference, Seattle, WA, October 1998.
  • Ng, S.-L., Lin, L. and Nagi, R., "Concurrent Design of Transfer Molded Components Using World-Wide-Web Technology," presented in the 7th Industrial Engineering Research Conference, Alberta Canada, May 1998.
  • Nagi, R., "Directions in Agile Manufacturing and Material Handling Research," discussion group summary presented in the 1996 International Colloquium on Material Handling Research, Vught, The Netherlands, June 1996.

Contact information: Phone: (716) 645-2427 • Fax: (716) 645-3302 • E-mail: nagi@buffalo.edu

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