Dr. Taraman is the DIT Chair of Manufacturing Engineering and Director of Manufacturing Systems Graduate Programs (DEMS and MEMS). He devoted 34 years to manufacturing engineering education. In 1986, He joined LTU where he served as Associate Dean then Dean of Engineering until 1991. He developed the first Master of Engineering in 1989 and the first Doctor of Engineering in 2002. Prior to joining LTU, he was a professor at the University of Detroit for 16 years. His duties at U of D included Director of the Manufacturing Engineering Institute and ME Chairman. He served as a Senior Technical Consultant of several companies such as Bendix, Ford, and GE. Dr. Taraman has supervised more than 100 graduate students who obtained their Master and Doctorate of Engineering under his direction at GM, Ford, Bendix, Chrysler, General Electric, and Westinghouse. He served as a Member of the Board of Directors of several organizations including the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Michigan Technology Council, and the Society of Machine Intelligence. He has contributed to the U.S.A. National Academy of Engineering and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He served as the President of the Pacific Congress on Manufacturing & Management (PCMM) for 12 years (1990-2002). Dr. Taraman has been a Member of the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Council on Engineering and Technology Education (INTERTECH) since 1990 and the SME Education Foundation since 1992. Dr. Taraman is the founder of the Global Congress on Manufacturing and Management (GCMM) since 2002. Dr. Taraman has published 108 papers and two books on Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM). He has presented globally more than 250 presentations on six continents. He received several international honors and awards for his distinguished contributions to engineering education and industry. These awards include: 1985 President's Award for Education & Research, 1988 Educator of the Year, SME Region VII, California, SME Fellow in 1991, Outstanding Industrial Engineer, Texas Tech Engineering Academy in 1991, the International Siegel Award for Significant and Unique Contributions to the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in 1998, and the Outstanding Education Leadership Award, ICECE in Brazil in1999 and 2000.