The Institute of Research for Technology Development (IR4TD) is a unique engineering research center dedicated to research, education, outreach, and service. At IR4TD we believe companies want more than mere survival in today’s economy, they want to prosper and grow. To accomplish that companies have to be proactively seeking new and better ways to provide the goods and services they offer. Among other things, this means they have to stay abreast of new technology, be versatile enough to change rapidly, work hard to continuously improve quality while reducing waste, and set themselves apart from their competitors. To answer these needs, IR4TD offers two programs, Research & Development and Lean Systems, both designed to offer new ideas and solutions.