Montana State University has appointed Kevin Amende, associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, to oversee its new master’s degree program dedicated to manufacturing, which is set to admit its first students this fall.
Amende has been named the inaugural holder of the Asbjornson Manufacturing Chair, which is part of the Mechanical Engineering Technology program in MSU’s Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering. The namesake of the college donated $8.5 million to endow the faculty position.
“Montana State University does a wonderful job providing education to new engineers,” said Norm Asbjornson, who graduated from Montana State with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1960 and spent a portion of his career in manufacturing. “It is my hope that by adding this chair to the faculty responsible for creating that incredible learning environment, more time will be available to support and create additional advantages for Montana’s manufacturers.”
The Master of Manufacturing Engineering program is a non-thesis program that students can complete in as little as 12 months and is aimed primarily at students in mechanical and industrial engineering. Working professionals enrolling in the program will typically take 18 to 24 months to finish the degree, Amende said.
“The program is designed to support traditional engineering students as well as working professionals,” said Brett Gunnink, dean of the engineering college. “It continues our college’s tradition of providing strong, hands-on education for engineers.”
The new master’s degree program will aid Montana’s manufacturing sector, Amende said, by supporting small businesses through technical and operational management training.
“This program will prepare our students to have successful career opportunities in large, national industrial manufacturing enterprises as well as smaller companies. Most of the manufacturing companies in Montana are small businesses, and employees have to wear multiple hats,” he said. “But the owners don’t necessarily have all the business or technical training they need. This endowment will support small businesses by providing technical and operational management training through the master’s program.”
The new program will also include training for teachers in the use of computer numerical control manufacturing. CNC manufacturing is a modern method of automated machining that uses computers to control factory tools such as lathes, mills, routers and grinders. It allows precise machine control based on a digital design.
“This endowment will allow me to fund and run hands-on train-the-trainer programs for teachers at MSU and around the region,” Amende said. “Teachers will come to the MSU campus to learn the basics of CNC manufacturing.”
The first such train-the-trainer session is expected to be held in the summer of 2026.
Dilpreet Bajwa, head of MSU’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, said Amende’s connections with Montana’s manufacturing community will be an asset for students of the program.
“Kevin has strong connections with manufacturing in Montana,” Bajwa said. “The new role provides a bold commitment to innovation, industry partnership and shaping the future of advanced manufacturing in the state.”