Timothy G. Gutowski is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA. He was the Director of MIT's Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity (1994 2004) and the Associate Department Head for Mechanical Engineering (2001 2005). From 1999 to 2001 he was the chairman of the National Science Foundation Department of Energy panel on environmentally benign manufacturing. He has written over 150 technical publications and seven patents and patent applications. He is the editor of Advanced Composites Manufacturing (1997).