Jeff Burnstein is the President of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), the parent group of the Robotic Industries Association (RIA), AIA – Advancing Vision + Imaging, and the Motion Control and Motors Association (MCMA). Together these trade groups represent over 1000 global companies involved in robotics, vision, motion control and motors and related automation technologies. Key A3 activities include the development of the American National Robot Safety Standard (ANSI/RIA R15.06); sponsorship of Automate, North America’s leading automation trade show and conference; collection of statistics on the North American robotics, machine vision, and motion control markets; developer of content-rich websites on these technologies at www.robotics.org, www.visiononline.org; and www.motioncontrolonline.org; and host of leading conferences and exhibits on key technology advances such as Collaborative Robots and Vision Guided Robots. RIA also presents the annual Engelberger Robotics Awards, the industry’s highest honor. Additionally, the www.a3automate.org website contains a series of “Why I Automate” videos based on the experiences of small and medium sized automation users. The association also publishes white papers on topics such as “Robots Fuel the Next Wave of Productivity and Job Growth.” Burnstein joined RIA in 1983 as Manager of Public Relations and has held a variety of senior positions at RIA, AIA and MCMA culminating in his promotion to A3 President in 2007. He is a frequent commentator on issues such as the impact of automation on jobs and the future of automation beyond the factory floor. He has given presentations to meetings of the Congressional Robotics Caucus, served as an industry representative on the panel celebrating the five-year anniversary of the National Robotics Initiative, and recently testified about Advanced Robotics to a subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. Founded in 1974, RIA is the North American representative to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). Burnstein serves as a member of the IFR Executive Committee, regularly giving presentations and representing the interests of RIA members at leading global events in North America, Europe and Asia. Prior to joining RIA, Burnstein worked at the Society of Manufacturing Engineers as well as the Central Business District Association in downtown Detroit, Michigan. He was born in Detroit, is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Literature, Science & the Arts, and is a life-long resident of the state of Michigan. A3 is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan and currently has a staff of 18 people. The association will soon open an A3 de Mexico organization to help serve the growing demand for information about robotics in Mexico