Michael Thurston

Research Faculty

CIMS Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery

Golisano Institute for Sustainability

mgtasp@rit.edu

585-475-6550

Office Location

SUS-2165

Michael Thurston

Research Faculty

CIMS Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery

Golisano Institute for Sustainability

Education

BS, MS, Rochester Institute of Technology; Ph.D., State University of New York at Buffalo

Bio

Dr. Michael Thurston is the Technical Director and Research Faculty at the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology and has been at RIT since 2001. He is also Director of the NY State Center of Excellence in Advanced and Sustainable Manufacturing located at RIT that works with companies across NY State. He has a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Buffalo and prior to RIT worked for 13 years in product development at General Motors and Delphi.

Dr. Thurston's areas of research interest include sustainable production, advanced manufacturing, product remanufacturing, smart products and systems, life-cycle engineering, building and manufacturing energy systems, and asset health management. His project work includes collaborations in product and process design with many companies, and in technology development and deployment with organizations supporting U.S. Department of Defense ground, sea, and air systems.

Dr. Thurston is involved with several national advanced manufacturing institutes. He is the Remanufacturing technology lead for the Department of Energy sponsored REMADE Institute, and also serves on the Technical Advisory Committee of the Department of Defense sponsored Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute. He also participates in activities of the Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII).

Personal Links

Areas of Expertise

Additive Manufacturing and Multifunctional Printing

Remanufacturing

Sustainable Manufacturing

Manufacturing Energy Systems

Smart Products and Systems

Sustainable Built Environment

Select Scholarship

Published Conference Proceedings

Thurston, Michael G., Michael Haselkorn, and Nabil Nasr. "Integrating Life-Cycle Planning Considerations into Design through the Innovation Based Design Process." Proceedings of the 2011 NDIA Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium. Ed. NDIA. Detroit, MI: n.p., 2011. Print.

Currently Teaching

ISUS-780

Capstone

1 - 6 Credits

An independent project in sustainability serving as a capstone experience for students completing the non-thesis option. This course requires a formal proposal and a faculty sponsor.

ISUS-790

Thesis

1 - 6 Credits

Independent research in sustainability leading to the completion of the MS thesis. This course requires a formal proposal and a faculty sponsor.

ISUS-791

Continuation of Thesis

0 Credits

MS or PhD students requiring additional time to complete their thesis

ISUS-807

Research

1 - 9 Credits

Research in fulfillment of Sustainability Ph.D. dissertation or M.S. capstone requirements.

ISUS-890

Dissertation Research

1 - 9 Credits

Research fulfillment of Sustainability Ph.D. dissertation requirements.

In the News

July 26, 2022

Research team develops workforce training that integrates virtual reality, gamification

More than 1,000 openings in the Finger Lakes region for skilled machinists are projected in the coming years. Local academic researchers and industry partners are developing new training options to fill the expected gaps—integrating gaming and virtual reality to appeal to a younger generation of manufacturing professionals.