Dr. Zhuming Bi will discuss the importance of manufacturing to a national economy and emerging studies in the fields of digital manufacturing (DM). DM has been identified as one of the top priorities in revitalizing the economy of the United States. However, DM means highly diversified things to researchers with different backgrounds in their respective disciplines, and this leads to some confusions in developing enabling technologies for ‘smartness’, ‘intelligence’, and ‘adaptability’ of manufacturing systems.