We want to recognize outstanding ARM Institute Members with our new ARM Champion Award!

The ARM Champion Award Program is an effort to recognize our Members who go above and beyond to enable the ARM Institute’s work. We launched this Program at the 2021 Annual ARM Member Meeting where we named Juan Aparicio (previously of READY Robotics) and Debbie Franklin (Wichita State University) as our first two ARM Champions. Since then, we also named Matt Robinson (Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and ROS-Industrial) and Brian Wilson (Duro UAS) our second set of ARM Champions. All ARM Champions will be recognized at our Annual Member Meeting taking place November 15-17, 2022.

Previously the ARM Institute leadership team selected Members for recognition. Now, we are opening nominations to the full membership, in addition to the ARM staff nominating Members! Members can nominate themselves and others for the ARM Champion Award. The ARM Institute will open nominations on a semi-quarterly basis.

The deadline for nominations for this round of Champion Award is July 29, 2022. We plan to select two Champions from the submitted nominations.

Reach out to [email protected] with any questions.

Selection Criteria

The ARM Member being nominated for the ARM Champion Award must have evidence of making an impact on the organization beyond typical ARM Member duties.

These contributions to the ARM Institute can include, but are not limited to, the following:

Leadership in the success or transition of an ARM Institute Funded Project (not necessarily as a PI)
Involvement on an ARM Institute Council, Committee, or Working Group,
Encouraging other organizations to join the ARM Membership
Presenting about the ARM Institute at conferences, tradeshows, or other events
Making other ARM Members feel welcomed to the consortium

Submit Your Nominations Here

Meet Our Current ARM Champions

Debra Franklin, Wichita State University

Debra Franklin has been an active ARM Institute Member since the Institute’s inception in 2017. Debra’s member recruitment efforts were integral to helping build the ARM Institute’s early membership base. She has volunteered her time and expertise on the ARM Institute’s Regional Collaborative Council, hosted regional ARM Institute events, and helped to welcome many members to the ARM Institute Consortium.

Matt Robinson, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and ROS-Industrial

Matt Robinson has also been involved with the ARM Institute since our inception in 2017. In the early days of the ARM Institute, Matt helped to create and manage our Software Working Group. Under Matt’s guidance, this group helped to form and lead the strategy for the ARM Institute to analyze, manage, and disseminate software components created through ARM Institute-funded projects. Matt has been involved in a number of successful ARM Institute technology projects, volunteered his expertise on the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), and hosted an ARM Institute Tech Day in conjunction with the 2020 ROS-I Meeting.

Brian Wilson, Duro UAS

Brian Wilson currently volunteers his time and expertise by acting as the co-chair for the ARM Institute’s Education & Workforce Development Committee (EWAC). Through his work on the EWAC, Brian helped to drive the creation of the ARM Institute’s Endorsement Program and our national workforce resource – RoboticsCareer.org. Brian is also an Auditor for the ARM Endorsement Program, which recognizes top-tier training programs across the U.S. for manufacturing careers working with robotics. To date, the ARM Institute has endorsed 15 training programs.

Juan Aparicio, previously of READY Robotics and previously of Siemens

Juan Aparicio was also an early member of the ARM Institute. Juan has volunteered his time and expertise on the ARM Institute’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). Juan has also led a number of successful ARM Institute-funded technology projects and has actively highlighted the ARM Institute’s work in his interviews and across his social media channels. Juan has also been recognized by SME as one of the Top 25 Leaders Transforming Manufacturing, alongside ARM Institute CEO Ira Moskowitz.

Nominate an ARM Member Here

About the ARM Institute

The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute is a Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII) funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense under Agreement Number W911NF-17-3-0004 and is part of the Manufacturing USA® network. The ARM Institute leverages a unique, robust, and diverse ecosystem of 300+ consortium members and partners across industry, academia, and government to make robotics, autonomy, and artificial intelligence more accessible to U.S. manufacturers large and small, train and empower the manufacturing workforce, strengthen our economy and global competitiveness, and elevate national security and resilience. Based in Pittsburgh, PA since 2017, the ARM Institute is leading the way to a future where people & robots work together to respond to our nation’s greatest challenges and to produce the world’s most desired products. For more information, visit www.arminstitute.org and follow the ARM Institute on LinkedIn and Twitter.