Department of Defense Announces Over $5 Million in Manufacturing Engineering Education Funding

The Department of Defense (DOD) recently announced over $5,775,755 in funding through four grants in support of the Manufacturing Engineering Education Program (MEEP). MEEP was established under the FY17 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to establish new or to enhance existing programs (or collections of programs) to better position the current and next-generation manufacturing workforce to produce military systems and components that assure technological superiority for the Department of Defense DoD.

“Historically, the Nation’s manufacturing base has allowed the United States to build the most complex and capable weapons systems in the world, allowing the military to meet the full spectrum of missions,” said Dr. Jagadeesh Pamulapati, Director, Laboratories Office. “Nurturing and growing the manufacturing capacity in the United States through MEEP will allow the United States to maintain its technological advantage and ignite the next generation of manufacturing talent.”

The four projects that will be receiving funding are: 

• Battelle Education (Columbus, OH): Battelle will leverage public private partnerships to strengthen the manufacturing engineering education at the high school level.
• Clemson University (Clemson, SC): Clemson University will develop immersive and personalized instruction to strengthen learning and retention for high-school through graduate school students.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA): The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will develop a comprehensive 15-month apprenticeship training program in support of a highly-skilled manufacturing workforce. This program will teach general and specific manufacturing competencies (ex., introductory quantum mechanics, electrical technology, and design principles) that demonstrate the interrelation of various manufacturing sectors.
• National Center for Defense Manufacturing & Machining (Blairsville, PA): The National Center for Defense Manufacturing & Machining will develop and launch a series of new virtual courses, inclusive of additive manufacturing and related technologies, to broaden and extend the scope of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ long-standing certificate programs.