A unique “factory of the future” program at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) in Ypsilanti is helping mechanical engineering students find jobs and generating top grades from students, professors and prospective employers. 

Developed by EMU’s GameAbove College of Engineering and Technology and Michigan-based Coherix, the program focuses on precision-manufacturing applications in the rapidly growing field of adhesive-dispensing technology. 

EMU associate professor Emad Tanbour manages the project and notes that nearly 50 senior mechanical engineering students already have taken the program and more than 20 received job offers before graduation.

More than 60 percent of the university’s senior-year mechanical engineering students have participated in the program since it began in 2023.

Tanbour adds that most of the students enrolled in the Coherix-sponsored program have been Michigan residents with an interest in pursuing engineering careers at companies with facilities in the state.

Coherix supports “factory of the future” studies at EMU with a $385,000 grant and provides a virtual-reality laboratory on the university’s Ypsilanti campus. Kawasaki Robotics, Sames and the Gozalez Group are among the program’s other corporate supporters.

Mohamad Qatu, dean of Eastern’s GameAbove college, points out that an important objective of the project is to expand the use of computer vision, virtual reality and adaptive-process-control systems in the automotive and consumer-electronics industries.

“Our program with Coherix is the only one of its kind to offer students experience in the programming and use of industrial robots to dispense adhesives and sealants in the manufacture of cars and consumer-electronic products – technology that has the potential to save U.S. companies billions of dollars in annual manufacturing costs,” Qatu says.

Dwight Carlson, Coherix chairman and CEO, adds that four EMU engineering graduates are now working at the company.

“There’s a critical shortage of mechanical engineers with expertise in adhesives and adhesive-dispensing system technology,” Carlson points out. “We hope our program at EMU will serve as a model for similar projects at other universities throughout the U.S.”

Julian Rodriguez joined Coherix as a field application engineer after graduating from EMU in 2024. He believes experience working on real-world projects in the university’s Coherix laboratory has been invaluable.

“Work on practical, industry-focused projects related to adhesives and sealants at EMU helped provide a virtually seamless transition into a job at Coherix,” Rodriguez says. “The hands-on experience I gained at EMU strengthened my technical skills and allowed me to contribute to meaningful projects from day one.” 

Coherix is a pioneer in the development of 3D-enabled adaptive-process-control technology. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI, the company provides high-performance adhesive-dispensing inspection technology to global OEMs, tier-one suppliers, line builders, dispensing-equipment companies and vision-system integrators in a variety of industries.

EMU introduced its undergraduate engineering program in 2017 and broke into the U.S. News & World Report national rankings just four years later. The program today is recognized as being among the top engineering colleges in the United States.