The Future of Manufacturing Starts with Your Vision

The Blue Sky Competition is the perfect venue to share your vision for the future of manufacturing. Submission Deadline: April 1, 2026

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The Challenge: The Blue Sky Competition is the definitive battleground for the future of manufacturing. We are not looking for incremental change, we are searching for the radical, the outrageous, and the truly transformative visions that will solve the grand challenges of tomorrow. This is where interdisciplinary revolution begins. Dare to prepare, submit, and champion your groundbreaking concept. The next era of manufacturing starts here, now, with your idea.

The Mission: Identify long-term challenges and new visionary ideas for manufacturing to influence the future of research and education.

Finalists present during the NAMRC/MSEC conference (June 14-18, 2026) and the winner receives the SME David Dornfeld Manufacturing Vision Award at the SME Fall Gala in October 2026. Finalists will be notified by May 1, 2026.

Ready to challenge the status quo? We seek abstracts up to one page in length that pose a grand challenge of large scale. Submissions must be anonymized for blind review and must describe the interdisciplinary nature. Approximately six abstracts will be selected as finalists.

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Your idea will be judged by a panel of experts from industry, academia, and government, including federal program officers. Submissions are judged on Scope, Interdisciplinary Nature, Quality of Presentation, and Potential Impact, specifically, the potential to transform U.S. manufacturing research and education.

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Achieve the ultimate recognition. The competition winner receives the prestigious SME David Dornfeld Manufacturing Vision Award, honoring outstanding leadership. Finalists receive up to $1500 per team in travel reimbursement and paid conference registration (travel/registration reimbursement for up to two speakers per submission).

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The impact of your vision extends globally. Finalists must agree to publish their presentation slides on the SME website. Participants are expected to work with organizers to broadly disseminate their idea through workshops or publications (e.g., Manufacturing Letters). See past breakthroughs that are now shaping the industry.

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Expert Consultation & Key Timeline

Interested in submitting an abstract? You are strongly encouraged to talk to our organizers for feedback and insight. It is the intent to help put forward the strongest ideas. These individuals will not serve on the selection committee.

Contacts: Michael Sealy (msealy@purdue.edu), Barbara Linke (bslinke@ucdavis.edu), or ZJ Pei (zjpei@tamu.edu)