ASME Hosts Congressional Briefing and Expo on Capitol Hill Showcasing 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 presented the latest technologies they are working on to help take U.S. manufacturing to the next level at a technology expo. Following opening remarks by ASME President Said Jahanmir, Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley of Michigan joined the briefing and provided a compelling account of how the Manufacturing USA program has positively impacted his state.

In efforts to inform congressional staff and invited guests on the achievements of the Manufacturing USA program, Institute members participated in two panels. Senior leadership at CREE, Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Companies (ITAMCO), and GE Global Research discussed Industry Advances in Technology Enabled by Manufacturing USA Institutes. Michael Molnar, NIST Founding Director of the Office of Advanced Manufacturing (OAM), moderated the discussion. Emily DeRocco, Vice President of Education and Workforce at Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow (LIFT), later moderated a discussion with representatives from Lockheed Martin Corp, Ohio Manufacturers Association, and 3D Veterans on Developing an Advanced Manufacturing Workforce.

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. These technologies include the YuMi robot, a development from the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute member ABB. The YuMi robot is a dual arm robot designed to transform automation.

The Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII) displayed its Covisus technology. Like a human fingerprint, Covisus uses tiny surface features of an item to uniquely identify it from all other items of its kind, keeping supply chains secure from counterfeit parts. 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.

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/resources/manufacturing-usa-annual-report-fiscal-year-2017