Rob Ivester

Dr. Robert W. Ivester serves as the Deputy Director of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.  The MEP National Network^TM focuses its expertise and knowledge as well as that of its partners (industry, educational institutions, state governments, NIST and other federal research laboratories and agencies) on providing U.S. manufacturers with information and tools they need to improve productivity, assure consistent quality, accelerate the transfer of manufacturing technology and infuse innovation into production processes and new products. 

Dr. Ivester served at the Department of Energy for seven years, most recently as Director of the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. FEMP oversees the implementation of policy and actions that result in energy efficiency implementation, renewable energy adoption, and reduction in energy and water use in federal government operations. Dr. Ivester also served in the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) for six years. During that time, AMO launched five Manufacturing USA Institutes, the Critical Materials Hub, and hundreds of small R&D and technical assistance projects across the Nation. He also worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology for over 16 years, leading and performing research in advanced manufacturing.

He has been an instructor for the Johns Hopkins University Engineering for Professionals program for graduate-level studies in manufacturing engineering since 2001. He is a SME Fellow and a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He received his doctorate in engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Master of Science in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.