The Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office held its annual Manufacturing USA Network Meeting on May 25 in Washington, DC. There were over 100 participants with representatives from each of the institutes and funding agencies attending nine unique sessions throughout the day. 

Dr. Monica Gorman, Special Assistant to the President for Manufacturing and Industrial Policy, National Economic Council and Justina Gallegos, Deputy Director for Industrial Innovation at the Office of Science and Technology Policy gave keynote addresses. They touched on the Administration’s focus on growing the American economy from the bottom up and middle out, the important work of Manufacturing USA institutes and their public-private partnerships, the Modern American Industrial Strategy, historic bi-partisan legislation such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS & Science Act, and the new Advanced Manufacturing Sprint and Workforce Hubs.

The attendees participated in a session that brainstormed the 10-year vision of the Manufacturing USA network and a Federal Funding Showcase session with speakers from the Economic Development Administration, NASA, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, and NIST’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Other sessions provided updates from the CHIPS Research & Development Office, an overview of an anticipated upcoming Manufacturing USA Workforce, Education and Vibrant Ecosystems (WEAVE) funding opportunity for the Manufacturing USA institutes, and a National Workforce Strategy panel with speakers from the White House Office of Management and Budget, Department of Labor, Department of Energy, and Department of Education. There was a discussion on manufacturing technology scale-up and deployment where leaders from the institutes shared their institutes’ experiences, spanning 10 different technology areas such as collaborative robotics, remanufacturing, and cybersecurity, with transitioning technology into production and the diverse approaches that could be used based on the organizational needs. Many of these examples showcased the role institutes play in nurturing start-ups across the innovation production cycle.

The meeting closed with a dialogue among the three directors of sponsoring federal agencies and attendees on network coordination mechanisms, successes, and opportunities. Suggestions on ways to coordinate more meaningful collaboration across institutes have left the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office hopeful for the coming year and the future of the Manufacturing USA network.