Dr. Thorsten Wuest serves as Assistant Professor of Smart Manufacturing at West Virginia University and J. Wayne and Kathy Richards Faculty Fellow in Engineering at the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. His research focuses on smart manufacturing, machine learning/data analytics, hybrid analytics, Industry 4.0, servitization/product-service systems, knowledge, information and data management, and closed-loop, item-level product lifecycle management (PLM) with a focus on manufacturing systems. In his research, he emphasizes an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to analysis and optimization. He is a recognized smart manufacturing thought-leader, listed among the 20 most influential professors in SMEs' smart manufacturing. Besides publishing his work in his field's premier academic outlets, Dr. Wuest has been featured by Forbes, Futurism, the World Economic Forum, CBC Radio, and World Manufacturing Forum.