Professor Jan-Anders E. Mansson, born 1952 in Örkelljunga, Sweden, obtained in 1981 his PhD-degree in Mechanical Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. After 5 years as head of the R&D department at KB Component AB, Sweden, he moved in 1985 to an academic position at the University of Washington, Seattle. In 1987, he was appointed Professor at the University of Washington (Department of Chemical Engineering), and in 1989 Professor at the Royal Institute of Technology (joint appointment Department of Polymer Technology and Aeronautical and Vehicle Engineering), Stockholm.

In 1990, Mansson joined the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) as Professor and Director of a newly created chair in Polymer and Composite Technology (LTC) at the Institute of Materials. His research at EPFL-LTC focused on novel cost-effective materials and manufacturing methods as well as unique additional functionalities, beyond the classical performance characteristics of composite materials. Scaling strategies for industrial implementation has been a focus since the beginning. Research including partners in the automotive, aerospace, chemical, medical and sport industries has led to over 350 peer reviewed ISI scientific publications, 300 conference publications. and several patents/patent applications. Current h-index: 55.

While maintaining his research program at EPFL, Prof. Mansson was Head of the Materials Department (2000 – 2004), followed by being named Vice-President for Innovation and Technology Transfer (2004 – 2008), a newly created position with the mission to build-up a “new” tech-transfer interface. During the period 2000-2008, he also served as Swiss Focal Point, under the Swiss Federal Science Agency for the cooperation in Science and Technology, with the Republic of Korea. In 2008, Prof. Mansson was elected President of the International Academy of Sports Science and Technology (AISTS), an International Olympic Committee (IOC) co-founded organization linking Academic Institutions in Sport Management and Technology.

In 2016 Prof. Mansson joined Purdue University as Distinguished Professor in Materials and Chemical Engineering and as Director of the Composite Manufacturing and Simulation Center (CMSC). In 2018 he founded the related Manufacturing Design Laboratory (MDLab); a fully functional Industry 4.0 Composite Manufacturing testbed. He also serves as Co-Executive Director for Indiana Manufacturing Competitiveness Center (IN-MaC) and Purdue Coordinator for Advanced Manufacturing to the Wabash Heartland Innovation Network (WHIN).

In 2019, Mansson founded and became the Executive Director of the newly created Ray Ewry Sports Engineering Center at Purdue, a collaboration between the College of Engineering and Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics, with close links to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He is currently also the Chairman of the Swimwear Approval Committee of the International Federation of Swimming (FINA) and on the Board of IOC’s Athlete365 Learning Gateway.

Prof. Mansson is also the founder of the composite company, EELCEE Ltd., active in the field of High-Volume Composites and Additive Manufacturing with its main operations in Korea and USA.

In addition of being a World Fellow of the International Committee on Composite Materials, he is member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, IVA, and the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences, SATW.

In a time when technology, on a global level, increasingly penetrates our professional and private life, it is obvious that the merger of technology and diplomacy should be high on any societal agenda.