U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, second from left, tours Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility in Hardin Valley on Thursday. Also pictured from left are IACMI CEO Craig Blue; Mark Johnson, director of DOE’s office of advanced manufacturing; Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero; and ORNL Director Thom Mason. They are standing next to a Shelby Cobra sports car that was 3D-printed at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
HARDIN VALLEY—The Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is part of a national effort to keep the United States on the cutting edge of research and manufacturing, a federal official said Thursday.
One-third of economic growth comes from innovations, and the United States must continue making new developments, said Penny Pritzker, U.S. commerce secretary.
“Research and manufacturing is not nice to have,” Pritzker said. “It’s a need to have.”
Pritzker toured the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility on Cherahala Boulevard in Hardin Valley on Thursday. It’s part of the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation in Knoxville, which was announced by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden during a trip to East Tennessee in January. [Read more…]
