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U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown Tours NAMII, Calling for the Creation of the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation
March 08, 2013 | Categories: America Makes News, Industry News
Youngstown,Ohio. — March 8, 2013. NAMII, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, awarded on August 2012, and driven by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), was honored to welcome Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) on his first official visit to NAMII where the Senator cited NAMII’s success as the pilot institute for the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) and called for the creation of the NNMI.
“On behalf of all of us at NAMII, we are very pleased that Senator Brown visited our Youngstown facility today to see first-hand the significant progress being made as the pilot institute for the Obama Administration’s National Network for Manufacturing Innovation,” said NCDMM Vice President and NAMII Director Ed Morris. “We greatly appreciate the Senator’s support and vision for the accelerated advancement of game-changing innovative technologies, such as additive manufacturing. Additive manufacturing combines innovative design and manufacturing capabilities to create new products and the jobs that follow as a strategic boost to the U.S. economy.”
In his remarks, the Senator reaffirmed his commitment to helping the United States out-innovate the rest of the world while creating thousands of high-paying, high-tech manufacturing jobs, touting NAMII as a key first step in achieving that goal.
“With NAMII leading the way, we can create a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation that will create thousands of high-paying jobs and establish the infrastructure to attract new investment in high-tech manufacturing,” stated Senator Brown.
President Obama first unveiled his plan for a National Network of Manufacturing Innovation in March 2012. The NNMI infrastructure would consist of up to 15 regional hubs that would accelerate the development and adoption of cutting-edge manufacturing technologies for making new, globally competitive products.
Senator Brown, the leading proponent of American manufacturing within Congress, was instrumental in bringing NAMII to Youngstown and Northeastern Ohio. Brown led a Congressional letter of support for the Eastern Ohio / Western Pennsylvania / West Virginia “Tech Belt” region, which features an extensive network of additive manufacturing technical expertise surrounding a regional manufacturing cluster, to receive the competitively awarded grant.
Subsequently, prior to the 2013 State of the Union address, Senator Brown circulated draft legislation to industry stakeholders to create a NNMI and establish more advanced manufacturing hubs like NAMII. President Obama, in his 2013 State of the Union address, once again spoke about the ways for Americato achieve economic growth and create more jobs, citing NAMII’s creation, technology, and success as a key point. Also in that address, the President renewed his call for creating a full-fledged nationwide network devoted to innovating and scaling up advanced manufacturing technologies and processes. The President has asked Congress to authorize a one-time $1 billion investment—to be matched by private and other non-federal funds—for the creation of NNMI.
Founding Director of NAMII and President and Executive Director of NCDMM Ralph Resnick added that NAMII and the creation of more regional hubs across the nation will prove enormously significant as the U.S. works to regain its economic global dominance.
“We are on the cusp of growing the U.S. manufacturing industry into a dominant economic force and it started right here in Youngstown with NAMII as the pilot institute for the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation,” said Mr. Resnick.
In attendance for Senator Brown’s NAMII visit were representatives from key NAMII collaborators Youngstown State University (YSU) and the Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI), including Dr. Cynthia Anderson, President, YSU; Martin A. Abraham, Ph.D., P.E., Founding Dean, College Of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Professor, Civil/Environmental and Chemical Engineering, YSU; Betty Jo Licata, Ph.D., Dean of Williamson College of Business Administration, YSU and Vice-Chairperson, Board of Directors, YBI; and Barb Ewing, COO,YBI.
Also present were Darrell Wallace, Ph.D., NAMII Acting Deputy Director of Workforce and Educational Outreach, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at (YSU), and the Founding Director of YSU’s Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Initiatives (AMWI) and YSU student Matt Azam, an Industrial and Systems Engineering major.
“I would also like to recognize our key collaborators here in Youngstown,” added NAMII Director Ed Morris. “One of NAMII’s founding principals is to foster a highly collaborative environment and infrastructure for the open exchange of additive manufacturing information and research. YSU and YBI continue to share their expertise in workforce development, education outreach and training, and entrepreneurialism within additive manufacturing and are helping to shape NAMII into a national center of excellence.”