IACMI Announces Key Partnerships with Mississippi State University and Penn State Behrend

Knoxville, TN (Oct. 22, 2024) – The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) announced today two new partnerships with Mississippi State University in Starkville, MS, and Penn State Behrend in Erie, PA. These partnerships aim to revitalize U.S. manufacturing with a focus on the machining industry. Machining and machine tools are a foundational element of America’s advanced manufacturing capabilities, which are essential to the country’s national security and continued economic vitality.

The new partnerships will advance America’s Cutting Edge (ACE), a joint Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Energy (DOE) initiative launched in 2020 to reestablish American leadership in the machining industry through transformative thinking, technology innovation, and workforce development. Expanding the number of training centers is a key part of ACENet, a national network of 39 machine tool workforce development sites across 14 states.

“Being established as an ACE Hub through the IDEELab at Mississippi State University is an extraordinary achievement, not only for the university but also for the entire state of Mississippi,” said Ross Smith, IDEELab Director. “This partnership solidifies Mississippi’s critical role in advancing America’s cutting-edge manufacturing capabilities. The IDEELab at Mississippi State University’s involvement in the ACE initiative will help revitalize the U.S. machining industry by fostering innovative technology development and workforce training that will have a profound and lasting impact on the state’s economic future. By positioning Mississippi as a leader in this national effort, the IDEELab at Mississippi State University ensures that our state will play a key role in strengthening American manufacturing and supporting the nation’s long-term security and prosperity.”

“Penn State Behrend is proud to offer the ACE CNC machining program. This training program will be a tremendous benefit to our students, local manufacturers, and the community,” said Mark Rubeo, assistant professor, mechanical engineering. “We are very appreciative to our sponsors, friends, and collaborators at IACMI – The Composites Institute for this opportunity, and we look forward to helping address the nationwide shortage of skilled machinists by delivering high quality hands-on training.”

ACE uses free online and in-person, hands-on training to connect top national experts with students and incumbent industrial workers from all backgrounds, levels of education, and work experience to catalyze awareness and interest in all facets of machining, including software development, metrology, design, operation, and entrepreneurship. To date, ACE has delivered online courses in CNC machining to more than 11,000 students from all 50 states and in-person bootcamp-style training to more than 2,000 students, all at no cost to participants.

“We must close the workforce gap in the U.S. when it comes to machine tool resources,” said Mark Morrison, workforce development lead for IACMI. “I believe the more people we can expose to the ACE training, the better chance we have of growing the country’s machine tool capabilities from the ground up. ACE directly addresses the critical shortages of skilled industrial workers by exposing next generation machinists, operators, engineers, designers, and entrepreneurs to advances in machine tool technology.”

“Many people like to talk about innovators and entrepreneurship, but the real knowhow of something is embedded in the making process,” said Ms. Adele Ratcliff, Director of DoD’s Innovation Capability and Modernization office which helps fund ACE through its Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program. “Most everything that’s made at scale uses a machine tool. If you know how to make it, then you know how to innovate on it faster. We want to restore the innovation within the U.S. machine tool sector.”

With that goal, DOD and DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), along with IACMI, created ACE, a public-private partnership designed to help close the skills gap and restore American dominance in machine tool technology and innovation.

Through ACE, DOD established a national computer numerical control (CNC) machining training program developed by University of Tennessee, Knoxville, professor Tony Schmitz. The program brings together the scientific expertise of ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility and the proven workforce development capabilities of IACMI.

“People love to make things, and when they do, they feel good about themselves,” said Ms. Ratcliff. “The ACE curriculum allows people to experience machining often for the first time. By expanding those opportunities for more people to go through hands-on training, we’re hoping to inspire the next generation of manufacturers in this country.”

About IACMI – The Composites Institute

IACMI – The Composites Institute is a 160-plus member community of industry, universities, national laboratories, and federal, state, and local government agencies working together to accelerate advanced composites design, manufacturing, technical innovation, and workforce solutions to enable a cleaner and more sustainable, more secure, and more competitive U.S. economy. IACMI is managed by the Collaborative Composite Solutions Corporation (CCS), a not-for-profit organization established by The University of Tennessee Research Foundation. A Manufacturing USA institute, IACMI is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office, as well as key state and industry partners.

About ACE – America’s Cutting Edge

America’s Cutting Edge, supported by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program, is a national computer numerical control machine training program designed to reestablish American leadership in the machine tool industry through transformative thinking, technological innovation, and workforce development. The curriculum combines advanced training tools and techniques from the University of Tennessee, the scientific expertise of the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the proven workforce development capabilities of IACMI.

ACE has expanded beyond the initial testbed of the University of Tennessee to include nine training hubs at North Carolina A&T State University, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, Marshall University Advanced Manufacturing Center, University of Florida, St. Cloud State University (Minn.), University of St. Thomas (Minn), Mississippi State University and Penn State Behrend. There’s a growing network of over three dozen machine tool training partners in 14 states, including high schools, trade schools, community colleges and universities.

About IDEELab at MSU

The Innovation Design Engineering Educational Laboratory (IDEELab) at Mississippi State University is a cutting-edge R&D partnership facility dedicated to enhancing workforce development, fostering industry collaborations, and driving innovation across the manufacturing and engineering sectors. As a central hub for industry growth, IDEELab provides state-of-the-art facilities that support both academia and industry in advancing technological solutions, increasing competitiveness, and preparing a highly skilled workforce for the future. The lab’s mission is to increase the Workforce Readiness Level (WRL) of engineering students and industry professionals, with a particular emphasis on bolstering the state of Mississippi and the southeastern United States. By equipping individuals with essential skills and hands-on experience, IDEELab seeks to strengthen regional industries and contribute to economic growth while leading in innovative research and workforce development initiatives.

About Penn State Behrend

Penn State Behrend is a comprehensive four-year and graduate college of Penn State, located on the former Glenhill Farm estate in Erie, PA. The college, which is home to 4,400 students on-campus and online, is structured as an Open Lab – a living laboratory where students and faculty experts partner with business and industry to develop new products, improve business processes, and solve market and social challenges. Learn more at Behrend.psu.edu.