Youngstown, Ohio — August 7, 2015. America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, and the Institute’s Platinum-level member, The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) are pleased to announce a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the official opening of the Institute’s first Satellite Center. This Satellite Center is located within UTEP’s renowned W.M. Keck Center for 3-D Innovation. The ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday, August 7, 2015. Remarks from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke, UTEP President Diana Natalicio, UTEP Professor Ryan Wicker, and Director of Manufacturing Technology Adele Ratcliff from the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense will take place prior to the ribbon cutting.
Also attending the ceremony will be NCDMM Executive Director and America Makes Founding Director Ralph Resnick; America Makes Deputy Director of Technology Transition Kevin Creehan, Ph.D.; and NCDMM Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Randy Gilmore.
Secretary Pritzker represents the Department of Commerce, one of the six agencies in the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (AMNPO) that manages the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) program. America Makes is the first Institute within the NNMI infrastructure. America Makes, operated by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), was launched in August 2012 and is managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) through the Defense-wide Manufacturing Science and Technology Program — Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy. AFRL on behalf of OSD leads an interagency team composed of the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST), Department of Energy, Department of Education, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Science Foundation.
“By establishing our first Satellite Center at UTEP, America Makes marks a new level of national reach for the institute,” said Ralph Resnick. “It also demonstrates the synergies between America Makes and UTEP’s Keck Center as both of our organizations are dedicated to accelerating the adoption of additive manufacturing and 3-D printing technologies to increase our nation’s global manufacturing competitiveness.”
Of the Institute’s new Satellite Center expansion model, Dr. Creehan said, “A coordinated America Makes Satellite Center network, of which UTEP’s Keck Center is the first, will bring immeasurable value to the domestic additive manufacturing supply chain by integrating diverse regional, technological, and industrial strengths and capabilities. By expanding the reach of the America Makes mission to new regions, we anticipate the establishment of new unique partnerships for technology development, technology transition, and workforce development by connecting expertise that might otherwise have never been able to collaborate.”
Plans to establish the first ever America Makes Satellite Center in UTEP’s Keck Center were announced in April at the America Makes Spring 2015 Program Review and Members Meeting.
“Key factors in selecting the W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation at the University of Texas at El Paso for the initial America Makes Satellite Center were their superior technical excellence in additive manufacturing, outstanding educational program, and proven ability to have a positive impact on the El Paso region,” said Ed Morris, America Makes Director and NCDMM Vice President. “We look forward to adding new America Makes members in the El Paso region through UTEP’s efforts to accelerate the use of additive manufacturing in their area.”
Currently, UTEP’s Keck Center is leading two America Makes member teams on applied research and development projects, totaling $2M in funding.
The first Keck Center led project team is comprised of the University of New Mexico, Youngstown State University, the Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., rp+m, Inc., and Stratasys. The project team seeks to further 3D printing technologies for rapid manufacturing of aerospace systems.
The second Keck Center led project team is comprised of Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Honeywell, and Draper Laboratory. The goal of the project is to leverage the learnings from the first project and apply them toward the development and the deployment of next-generation additive manufacturing technologies into a low-cost, industrial multi3D system for 3D electronics manufacturing.
With more than $80 million in annual research spending, UTEP is dedicated to becoming the first national research university serving a 21st century student demographic. The University’s outstanding record of receiving extremely competitive grant awards reflects the quality of UTEP’s faculty and their sustained commitment to excellence while also maintaining an academic environment dedicated to addressing the educational needs of students.
Founded in 2001 as part of a $1 million grant by the W.M. Keck Foundation, UTEP’s Keck Center is a lab like no other. Led by Director and Founder Dr. Wicker, the Keck Center features a 13,000-square-foot, state-of-the art facility with more than 50 additive manufacturing machines and more than 50 involved faculty, staff, students and researchers with multiple successful national and international collaborations. The lab showcases a unique blend of additive manufacturing equipment and facilities to perform fundamental research, allowing for trailblazing discoveries to be made in limitless arenas of science including 3-D printed electronics, airplanes and satellite components, human augmentation, biomedical implants and future energy systems.
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About America Makes
America Makes is the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. As the national accelerator for additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing (3DP), America Makes is the nation’s leading and collaborative partner in AM and 3DP technology research, discovery, creation, and innovation. Structured as a public-private partnership with member organizations from industry, academia, government, non-government agencies, and workforce and economic development resources, we are working together to innovate and accelerate AM and 3DP to increase our nation’s global manufacturing competitiveness. Based in Youngstown, Ohio, America Makes is the flagship Institute for the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) infrastructure of up to 45 Institutes to follow and is driven by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). For more information about America Makes, visit http://americamakes.us.
About NCDMM
The NCDMM delivers optimized manufacturing solutions that enhance the quality, affordability, maintainability, and rapid deployment of existing and yet-to-be developed defense systems. This is accomplished through collaboration with government, industry, and academic organizations to promote the implementation of best practices to key stakeholders through the development and delivery of disciplined training, advanced technologies, and methodologies. For additional information, visit the NCDMM at http://ncdmm.org.
About The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)
UTEP has redefined public higher education not only in Texas, but across the nation as the University begins its second century of service. Since opening its doors as the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy in 1914, UTEP’s geographic location along the U.S.-Mexico border has enabled generations of students to pursue their goals through higher education in one of the largest binational communities in the world. With more than $80 million in annual research spending, UTEP is dedicated to becoming the first national research university serving a 21st century student demographic. The University’s outstanding record of receiving extremely competitive grant awards reflects the quality of UTEP’s faculty and their sustained commitment to excellence while also maintaining an academic environment dedicated to addressing the educational needs of students. For more information about UTEP, visit http://utep.edu.
About the W.M. Keck Center for 3-D Innovation
Located at the University of Texas at El Paso, the W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation is a unique multidisciplinary research facility focused on the use and development of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies with primary focus areas in AM Technology Development, Engineered and Structured Materials, and Advanced AM Applications. The Keck Center was established in 2001 as part of a $1 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation and was recently expanded to its current 13,000 square feet as a result of funding from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, the University of Texas System, and Lockheed Martin. For more information, visit http://keck.utep.edu.
