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By Andrew Soliman

In a bright, humming lab inside Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½’s College of Engineering, a robotic arm lifts a freshly machined part from a conveyor belt. It pivots with quiet precision, places the piece onto a pallet and signals the next station. A laser engraver flashes. Cameras scan. An inspection system decides: pass or reject.

No human hands intervene.

For students working inside the lab, seamless automation is what makes the experience real-world.

“You’re not just learning one machine at a time,” says industrial engineering student Jacob Matus. “You’re seeing how everything connects. It feels like working in an actual production facility, not a classroom setup.”

For Professor Shokoufeh Mirzaei, chair of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, the lab represents far more than a collection of high-tech machines. It is proof that Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ students are being trained for the future of manufacturing.

And industry has taken notice.

Many universities have Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines. Some have robotics. Others have storage and retrieval systems. What makes the Vy and Tim Li Automation Lab different is that it not only has each of these, but every machine operates in coordinated dialogue with the others, forming a complete system that provides students an elevated learning opportunity.

“Our systems are integrated,” Mirzaei explains. “It’s not just a standalone robot or a standalone CNC machine. The entire process is connected, from storage to machining to inspection, just like a real automated manufacturing environment.”

At one end of the lab sits an automated storage and retrieval system, which functions like a highly intelligent vending machine. Based on a digital production plan, it selects the required raw materials and places them onto a conveyor.

From there, pallets travel to CNC machines that cut metal or plastic components according to programmed specifications. The parts then move to a laser engraver before arriving at an assembly station, where a robotic arm performs precise pick-and-place operations to build a finished product.

Once assembled, the product undergoes visual inspection. Cameras capture images. Software analyzes them in real time.

“The system uses advanced AI image processing tools to determine whether a part meets the required specifications,” Mirzaei says.

If the product passes, it moves forward. If it fails, it is automatically flagged for human review.

The result is a fully automated, closedloop manufacturing line—a small-scale version of the smart factories emerging across the globe.

Mirzaei sees clearly where manufacturing is heading in the next five to 10 years.

“It’s all about automation,” she says. “It’s about having workforce that is capable of working, planning and maintaining this equipment in a fully automated warehouse or manufacturing setup.”

That vision is exactly why industry and community partners are reaching out.

Since the lab became operational, companies have contacted the department to collaborate and recruit graduates.

“They acknowledge how advanced our technology is,” Mirzaei says. “They see that our students are working with systems that are integrated and fully automated. That makes their education valuable, and future-proof.”

In other words, students are not observing automation. They are programming, troubleshooting, improving. They see how a production plan triggers a storage system, how a robot assembles components, and how machine vision verifies quality. They learn how data and hardware intersect, and how to manage that.

For students preparing to enter the workforce, that experience translates directly into confidence. 

“When companies talk about automation or smart manufacturing, I already have a frame of reference,” says Matus, who graduated in 2026. “It makes you feel ahead, like you’re stepping into the future instead of trying to catch up to it.”

The lab was made possible through a combination of a generous donation from Vy Li (’22, master’s in systems engineering) and her husband Tim, an NSF grant, and university investments. But its impact extends far beyond its walls.

In 2023, Mirzaei and her colleagues submitted a preliminary proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a research center in smart manufacturing. The proposal was accepted, and the team was invited to submit a full application. At the same time, funding came together to complete the automation lab.

The result: a $7.5 million NSF grant to expand the smart manufacturing research and to increase the university’s research capacity.

“Our vision is to become the hub for smart manufacturing in Southern California,” Mirzaei says. “When somebody says smart manufacturing, they will think about Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ and the College of Engineering.”

That vision extends beyond current students. The new center will support K-12 outreach programs, summer programs for high school students and learning opportunities for transfer students. Undergraduate and graduate students Undergraduate and graduate students will gain expanded research experiences, while partnerships with institutions such as UC Riverside will create pathways into Ph.D. programs.

“Increasing the research capacity of the university beyond what we have at the moment opens up a lot of opportunity for our students,” Mirzaei says.

The lab demonstrates what Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ does best: Become by Doing. That hands-on experience is what students say sets Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ apart.

“You’re not just watching how systems work, you’re part of it,” Matus says. “That’s something you can’t really replicate unless you have a lab like this.”

For Mirzaei, the excitement lies not only in the machines, but in what they represent.

“This lab propelled us even beyond what the initial effort was,” she says “What began as a vision for an advanced teaching facility has evolved into a catalyst for research growth, industry engagement and student opportunity.”