ASME hosts Congressional Briefing and Technology Expo on Capitol Hill, Highlight Latest Advances in American Manufacturing

ASME recently hosted a briefing in partnership with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to celebrate the release of the latest Manufacturing USA report. Following the briefing, all 14 Manufacturing USA Institutes showcased their latest technologies they are working on to help take U.S. manufacturing to the next level at a technology expo. ASME’s chief executive officer and executive director Tom Costabile and Past President Said Jahanmir both provided welcome remarks and allowed attendees to gain a better idea of what was to come for the future of American manufacturing.

In efforts to inform congressional staff and invited guests on the achievements of the Manufacturing USA program, Institute members participated in two congressional briefing panels. Representatives from Sunnking, Boeing, and The Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development discussed how to leverage Public-Private Partnerships to Develop an Advanced Manufacturing Workforce, moderated by Professor Brian Paul of Oregon State University. The second panel saw representatives from Lockheed Martin, the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining, and Techmer PM discuss the impact of the Manufacturing USA Institutes in Technology Advancement, moderated by Robin Parton Pate, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation.

Co-Chair of the House Research and Development Caucus Bill Foster (D-IL), also joined the briefing, where he spoke of his professional endeavors in manufacturing prior to his election to congress. He also highlighted importance of training and supporting the manufacturing workforce, a key tenet of the Manufacturing USA program.

Following the Congressional Briefing, directors from all 14 of the Manufacturing USA Institutes attended a technology expo to showcase the latest technologies their institutes have developed. Among some of the technologies on display was the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) Institute’s LOOksPack backpack, the world’s first “programmable” backpack. The bag allows the wearer to program and share information through technology woven into the material’s fibers. Users who want to access the information contained in the backpack can access it simply by pointing their smartphone at the bag from distances of up to 30ft away. The backpack is based on a “Made in America” coded fabric, and allows users to protect their privacy by maintaining complete control over the information the backpack displays. As AFFOA highlighted, this bag is great for connecting people at conferences and technology expos!

General Mills, in conjunction with Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII), enlightened expo participates of its work to implement digital systems to ensure that their gluten free products were truly gluten free—from the harvest field, to shipment containers, to various storage containers, and finally the manufacturing of Cheerios.

Several Members of Congress also joined for the Technology Expo. Representatives Joe Morelle (D-NY) and Paul Tonko (D-NY) joined to discuss the importance of manufacturing, and laud the work of the Manufacturing USA institutes.

The full list of institutes that attended the expo and comprise the Manufacturing USA program is available at https://www.manufacturingusa.com/institutes

To view the newly released Manufacturing USA report, click here: https://www.manufacturingusa.com/reports/manufacturing-usa-annual-report-delivering-value-nation