Professor Andre Sharon has accumulated over 20 years of experience, both industrial and academic, developing and deploying computer-controlled custom automation equipment for a number of industries, ranging from sub-micron, high-precision machinery for the optoelectronics, biotech / biomedical, and renewable energy markets to high-speed assembly of consumer products.

As Executive Director of the Fraunhofer USA CMI and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Boston University, Professor Sharon works closely with faculty, students and engineers to develop next-generation technologies for local and international clients. He also teaches a course on precision machine design and instrumentation, and served as the Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing.

Prior to joining Fraunhofer USA CMI/Boston University, Professor Sharon  co-founded and served as Executive Officer of the MIT Manufacturing Institute. There, Professor Sharon led a large program aimed at cost reducing the manufacture of optoelectronic and fiber optic systems through the development of cost-effective packaging, pig tailing and handling equipment. Before that, Professor Sharon spent seven years at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center and IBM's General Technology Division developing production machinery and test equipment for computer components. He has also consulted extensively for industry in the area of cost-effective automation.

Professor Sharon founded kSARIA Corporation, and was successful in raising over $35M in venture capital to produce cutting-edge process automation for the production of fiber optic cables, pigtails, and harnesses. kSARIA was recently acquired by Behrman Capital. Prof. Sharon also acquired funding and established the Boston University – Fraunhofer Alliance for Medical Devices, Instrumentation and Diagnostics, aimed at accelerating the process of taking medical innovations from the laboratory to the patient point-of-care. He is the first American recipient of the prestigious Joseph Von Fraunhofer Prize in recognition for his work on pharmaceuticals production.

Professor Sharon received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute New York.