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More manufacturing institutes on the agenda?

President Obama apparently likes the idea of a string of manufacturing institutes being part of his legacy.

He has asked Congress to provide $150 million in new funding in fiscal 2016, which begins on Oct. 1, to create two new manufacturing innovation sites. Each would receive $75 million over five years, and participants—generally groups of companies, academic programs, national labs, and local governments—would have to match the federal contribution.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been responsible for managing what is called the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. Five manufacturing institutes (America Makes, Youngstown, Ohio; Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, Knoxville, Tenn.; Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute, Chicago; Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow, Detroit; and PowerAmerica, Raleigh, N.C.) currently comprise the network, with four more in various stages of creation. Two of those would be the new ones, which would receive fiscal 2016 funding.

The extra $150 million Obama is asking for would be added to the budget of NIST's Industrial Technology Services program. The four new institutes in the process of being created focus on flexible hybrid electronics, integrated photonics, clean energy, and advanced fibers and textiles. The furthest along of the four is the Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Institute, for which concept papers were due on March 27, and the Integrated Photonics Institute for Manufacturing, for which the Air Force Research Laboratory released a funding opportunity last November.

About the Author

Stephen Barlas

Contributing Writer

Stephen Barlas is a freelance writer that has more than 30 years of experience covering Congress, the White House, and the many regulatory agencies found in Washington, D.C. He has covered issues affecting the metal fabricating industry for The FABRICATOR for more than a decade.