Advanced Manufacturing vs. COVID-19
Immediately recognizing that advanced manufacturing can contribute to solutions for the pandemic, in March 2020 America Makes developed a plan to team up with the FDA, NIH, and VA and leverage additive manufacturing to fight COVID-19. Other institutes followed with their own projects supporting the nation.
In addition, NIST awarded $12.3 million in grants to five Manufacturing USA institutes to support high-impact projects for pandemic response, with funding authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed by the President.
The opportunities extended by the institutes brought together government entities and the private sector to rapidly develop innovative projects that contributed to our nation’s COVID-19 response efforts. These projects:
- Expanded the production of needed medical countermeasures
- Provided workforce training that responded to changing conditions
- Increased testing capacity to track workplace infections
- Helped manufacturers prepare for the future in the face of shifting economic realities
Along with these CARES-funded projects, Manufacturing USA, the manufacturing innovation institutes and the federal agencies that sponsor them — the Departments of Commerce, Defense, and Energy — as well as six additional partner agencies, have committed resources and facilitated coordination among institute members and communities to quickly pivot and augment their programmatic efforts in response to the pandemic crisis.
Here are some highlights from these advanced manufacturing efforts aimed at aiding the United States in its fight against COVID-19.
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External News
LIFT, the Detroit-based, Department of Defense-supported national manufacturing innovation institute, announced it has partnered with Macomb Community College to provide advanced manufacturing training opportunities through the institute’s “Operation Next” program.
“Operation Next” is an innovative, self-paced, manufacturing-focused training and...
In February 2020, NIIMBL ran a three-day workshop, which included participants from the FDA, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, plus what Erickson describes as “distinguished leaders in manufacturing and process development from 14 major manufacturers and suppliers.”
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The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), through the CARES Act, provided funding to the ARM Institute to collaborate with Wilder Systems to develop this technology.
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The partnership of these two centers is a vision of Dr. Garrett Hinshaw, president of Catawba Valley Community College and...