Oak Ridge Today

ORNL manufacturing facility part of national effort to make innovations

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Penny Pritzker Tours ORNL Manufacturing Demonstration Facility

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…]

Commerce secretary to tour UT partner IACMI, ORNL manufacturing facility

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Penny Pritzker

Penny Pritzker

KNOXVILLE—On Thursday, August 27, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Department of Energy Assistant Secretary David Danielson will visit the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation in Knoxville.

The visit is part of a two-day tour of the institutes make up the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. Governor Bill Haslam, U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero, and Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett will join Pritzker for portions of the day’s activities.

The group will tour the U.S. Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility and National Transportation Research Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The University of Tennessee in Knoxville is a key strategic partner of IACMI and led the proposal efforts with ORNL.

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden announced the new institute in January during a visit to East Tennessee. The White House initiative aims to strengthen the global competitiveness of America’s manufacturing sector and the workforce. The NNMI now has six institutes, and three more are being formed. [Read more…]

U.S. commerce secretary to tour ORNL Manufacturing Demonstration Facility

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Penny Pritzker

Penny Pritzker

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker will tour the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Knoxville on Thursday. It’s a trip to tour the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, part of the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation.

President Barack Obama created the NNMI to strengthen the global competitiveness of America’s manufacturing sector and our workforce. The NNMI currently has six institutes, and three additional institutions under competition, each of which is focused on the development of a different 21st century technology.

The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation works to develop lower-cost, higher-speed, and more efficient manufacturing and recycling processes for next-generation materials, including advanced polymer composites for vehicles, wind turbines, and compressed gas storage, a press release said. In addition, IACMI’s research, development, and demonstration programs are focused on reducing technical risk and developing a robust supply chain to support a growing advanced composites industry. [Read more…]

Tech 2020-led team receives $250K grant for investment capital effort

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Tech 2020 Logo

A proposal team led by Technology 2020, or Tech 2020, in Oak Ridge has received a $250,000 federal grant to create a seed capital fund. The goal is to establish a permanent source of professionally managed, seed-stage investment capital focused on technology-generating institutions, entrepreneurs, and young companies in Tennessee, a press release said.

The grant was announced this week by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.

Tech 2020 led a proposal team that included Memphis Bioworks Foundation, Meritus Ventures, and Innova Memphis. The team proposed to create the “TennesSeed Fund.”

The TennesSeed Fund team will receive the $250,000 grant, and it will be supported by Meritus and Innova to conduct an assessment of best practices, and then organize and launch a new seed fund focused on “proof of concept” financings in Tennessee. The initial focus of investments will be intelligent and sustainable transportation and logistics, which is an industry cluster where Tennessee has a competitive advantage bolstered by strong research, development, and commercial activity, a press release said. [Read more…]

Pellissippi State receives $4.6 million federal grant

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez on Wednesday announced $474.5 million in grants to community colleges and universities around the country, including Pellissippi State Community College, for the development and expansion of innovative training programs in partnership with local employers, a press release said.

The 57 grants will support 190 projects in at least 183 schools in every state plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Pellissippi State’s grant is valued at about $4.6 million. Located near Oak Ridge in west Knox County, the community college is the leader of a consortium that received a total of roughly $12.7 million. [Read more…]