ARL Penn State is host to IMAST, one of the ONR ManTech program’s Centers of Excellence. IMAST facilitates the execution and management oversight of a portfolio of projects the contribute to the ONR ManTech affordability goals as well as sustainment. IMAST’s primary objective is to address challenges related to Navy and Marine Corps weapon system platforms in the following technical areas: materials processing, laser processing, advanced composites, manufacturing systems, repair and sustainment, and complex systems monitoring. IMAST supports the Navy and Marine Corps systems commands, as well as PEOs and Navy laboratories. Projects under the traditional ManTech program are primarily focused on incorporating new technology to improve the affordability of the Navy’s major acquisition programs.IMAST also supports sustainment through the Repair Technology (RepTech) program, a subset of ManTech, which is focused on improving life cycle cost and weapon system or platform reliability and availability. RepTech applies new and emerging technologies to improve capabilities of Navy depots, shipyards, Marine Corps Logistics Bases, and lower level maintenance activities throughout the Fleet. RepTech cooperates and communicates with Navy COEs, the joint depot community, DOD industrial activities, industry, PEOs, and university laboratories.

Chris Ligetti is the Head of the Production Engineering department under the Materials and Manufacturing Office at the Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, In this role, Chris is responsible for the formulation, capture, and execution of innovative research and development programs under the sponsorship of the US Navy, other Department of Defense, and industrial organizations, with a focus on the optimization of design and manufacturing processes for cost and lead time reduction of complex systems. Chris is responsible for recruitment, retention, mentoring, and training of diverse research faculty and staff engineers with expertise in industrial engineering, operations research, and computer science.

Research and Development Engineer at the Pennsylvania State University's Applied Research Laboratory. Contributed to several Office of Naval Research Manufacturing Technology (ONR ManTech) projects supporting shipbuilding cost saving initiatives for major US Navy programs such as VIRGINIA class submarine and the CVN aircraft carrier. Principle investigator or active participant on projects sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Actively involved in project management and proposal development to several Department of Defense sponsors. Technical and research interests include planning and manufacturing process improvement, manufacturing process planning and cost estimating, decision support, simulation modeling, and planning and scheduling supporting heavy manufacturing industries.