Celebrating 10 Years of Manufacturing USA

A decade ago, policymakers responded to the need to strengthen the U.S. manufacturing base with the launch of Manufacturing USA. Recently, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) hosted a Capitol Hill event dubbed “Celebrating Manufacturing USA: 10 Years of American Innovation.” Thought leaders, including those from three Manufacturing USA institutes—LIFT, MxD and NIIMBL—convened to share insights and analysis on the impact of the Manufacturing USA network during the past decade, as well as reinforce the importance of sustained investment in the program to policymakers.

Kicking off the event, Stephen Ezell, vice president for Global Innovation Policy at ITIF, discussed a report that he and his colleagues released in 2012. Titled “Why America Needs a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation,” the report contributed to a growing call, first led by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) and supported by multiple voices, to establish a network of manufacturing innovation institutes that would spur the development of advanced manufacturing process and product technologies for the U.S. economy. At that time, Ezell explained, supply chains for advanced technology products shifted overseas, and while the U.S. remained a leader in innovation and research and development, there was an urgent concern about the risks of a declining competitive position.

Such risks included falling behind in the advancement of critical technologies, slowing innovation, a weakening link between manufacturing production and product development, and gaps in vital workforce skills required to succeed in advanced manufacturing.

PCAST called for a “whole of government” initiative to partner with industry and academia on these innovation institutes. Accordingly, an interagency team, including the Departments of Commerce, Defense and Energy, along with NASA and the National Science Foundation, held roundtables across the nation to capture stakeholder input on the institute design. Borrowing the industry notion that one learns by doing, the team agreed to establish a pilot institute in 2012 focused on additive manufacturing—now known as America Makes.

The institute design framework was published in 2013, based on input from over 1,200 experts from industry and academia, as well as lessons from the pilot institute. Additional institutes were planned according to this design, with competitions in 2013. The foundational year was in 2014, when Congress passed the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act, formally establishing the Manufacturing USA program, along with the institute launches of MxD (focused on digital manufacturing) and LIFT (focused on lightweight materials).

A decade later, Manufacturing USA has grown into a network of 17 innovation institutes, each with a single federal sponsor—currently either the Department of Commerce, Defense or Energy. All the institutes are supported by the interagency Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (AMNPO) composed of leaders from nine federal agencies. Manufacturing USA has helped position the U.S. as a global leader in advanced manufacturing while supporting critical infrastructure for national security, making significant impacts in several key areas:

A New Model for Innovation

Manufacturing USA’s public-private model brings together large industry competitors in a neutral environment for pre-competitive collaboration. This benefits the broader community while safeguarding intellectual property. Institute members benefit from pooled research and development resources, access to technical expertise, shared state-of-the-art facilities with testing and prototyping equipment, and exposure to potential new partners.

For example, the biopharmaceutical industry relies on buffer stock to manufacture therapeutic proteins. Because the production of buffer stock takes substantial time, cost and facility space, NIIMBL, the biopharmaceutical manufacturing institute, led a project in collaboration with BioPhorum and industry giants such as Merck & Co., MilliporeSigma, Janssen Research & Development, Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline to develop an open-source buffer stock-blending system. According to Manufacturing USA, the technology reduces the time it takes to manufacture 2,000 liters of buffer solution from eight hours to less than an hour. This is but one example of how new models for innovation are creating new pathways to innovation.

Creating Roadmaps

The network of institutes and agency partners developed a national education and workforce development roadmap. The initiative brings together the public and private sectors to create opportunities for existing and prospective workers to find their pathways into the advanced manufacturing workforce and prepare themselves for the technical, high-quality jobs being created in advanced manufacturing. The roadmap is built around three priorities:

Another example is the work done by CESMII, the Smart Manufacturing Institute, to create a comprehensive set of resources to help small and medium-sized manufacturers adopt smart manufacturing technologies and processes. The institute led efforts to standardize interoperability and data modeling, developing the Smart Manufacturing Interoperability Platform and establishing six regional Smart Manufacturing Innovation Centers as technology demonstration and workforce training centers. CESMII also introduced the Smart Manufacturing Acceleration Roadmap Framework, providing a blueprint and tools for organizations on their smart manufacturing journey.

Defining Jobs of the Future

Institutes are heavily involved in education and workforce development to shape the jobs and careers of the future. By collaborating with manufacturers, they reverse engineer future job roles by understanding industry challenges, identifying core competencies and establishing key performance metrics.

This process enables the institutes to define specific roles and develop training programs that equip workers with the skills needed to excel in these positions.

For example, The ARM Institute launched www.roboticscareer.org, the nation’s first resource to connect manufacturers, workers and job seekers with education programs to develop skills for careers in automation and robotics. To date, the ARM Institute has collaborated with more than 400 member organizations to define robotics skillsets, competencies and career pathways.

Shining a Light on Modern Makers

To shine a light on today’s manufacturing jobs that offer high-paying opportunities to work with cutting-edge technologies, Manufacturing USA launched the Modern Makers program in 2023. It is now an annual program and a cornerstone of the Manufacturing USA network’s education and workforce development initiatives.

“Modern Makers embody Manufacturing USA’s mission to secure the future of U.S. manufacturing through innovation, education and collaboration,” says Mike Molnar, founding director of the interagency AMNPO headquartered at NIST. “As manufacturing has changed, so too have the faces and roles in today’s manufacturing. Each year, Manufacturing USA is proud to celebrate individuals across the advanced manufacturing ecosystem who make America an industrial leader.”

A self-professed tech wizard, beach lover and avid learner, Tambre Paster’s initial interest in manufacturing goes back to a field trip with her 7th grade class to NASA in Houston, where she marveled at how heavy machinery could be flown with pinpoint precision faster than the speed of sound.

She has since parlayed her curiosity into a career. Paster currently serves as an Associate Technical Fellow at Lockheed Martin, which is a member of CyManII, the Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute, as well as other institutes. Paster has spearheaded Lockheed Martin’s workforce efforts with CyManII, and helped provide data and context to understand the needs of their Tier 2 and 3 suppliers.

She recently moved from a role in cybersecurity engineering to a role in supply chain risk management, where she will help develop Lockheed Martin’s strategy for driving resilience into its supply chains.

Oscar Ramirez is an example of how people don’t necessarily need a college degree to succeed in the STEM world. His story centers around family and perseverance. He says that growing up, he didn’t always have the nicest things, but his parents gave him everything they could.

He remembers uncertainty when the family had to make tough choices–like deciding between shelter or groceries.

“Those experiences shaped me into the person I am today,” Ramirez explains. “Today, I hold my head high, grateful for the strong support system I have. I now embrace challenges as opportunities for growth and learning.”

His connections to a biopharmaceutical career and higher education began in high school when he enrolled in Bio+, a dual enrollment program at Kansas City Kansas Community College. The program focused on technical topics such as cell and molecular biology, manufacturing technology and biomanufacturing.

Ramirez was a member of the 2023 NIIMBL eXperience workforce development program, where he saw how the institute focused on advancing biopharmaceutical manufacturing by developing standards that enable more efficient production capabilities, educate the future workforce and drive U.S. competitiveness.

He is now a quality control microbiologist at MilliporeSigma, a member of NIIMBL, and has also earned several micro-credentials through the Bioscience Core Skills Institute (BCSI).

Read the stories of all Modern Makers by visiting www.manufacturingusa.com/modern-makers.

The Decade Ahead

In 10 years, Manufacturing USA has cemented the model as a proven ecosystem of stakeholders from industry, academia and government to work together on transformational projects related to technologies, supply chains, education and workforce development. This effort helps ensure American inventions are scaled up and turned into American-made products.

Soon, two new institutes will join the Manufacturing USA network: one focused on digital twins for semiconductor manufacturing and another on artificial intelligence for resilient manufacturing. Through collaborative partnerships that foster fresh approaches to innovation, Manufacturing USA intends to continue to shape the future of the U.S. manufacturing industrial base, build the factories of the future and strengthen competencies for advanced manufacturing careers.

“By bringing together industry, academia and government, Manufacturing USA has redefined innovation in manufacturing, creating resilient, technology-driven solutions that drive U.S. leadership in critical industries,” NIST’s Molnar said. During the recent event in Washington, D.C., he added a view on how industry policymakers and tech policy scholars should think about the value of the Manufacturing USA model. “Not every problem needs or can optimally be solved by a public-private partnership,” he said. “But once you create this neutral convening ground where even competitors can collaborate, it creates extraordinary value.”

To learn more about Manufacturing USA visit www.manufacturingusa.com.