America Makes to open second satellite centre at Texas A&M University
March 25, 2019
America Makes, Youngstown, Ohio, USA, will open its second America Makes Satellite Center within the facilities of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), a part of The Texas A&M University System, College Station. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between America Makes, which is managed by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), and TEES was announced during a signing event held at the Zachry Engineering Education Complex, College Station.
During the signing event, Rob Gorham, America Makes’ Executive Director, commented, “On behalf of all of us at America Makes, we are pleased to announce the selection of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station as the site of our second America Makes Satellite Center. For more than 100 years, TEES has performed groundbreaking engineering research and developed technology to address state and national problems.”
“With our second America Makes Satellite Center to also be located in Texas, housed on the Texas A&M campus, we have strategically expanded our reach of accelerating the adoption of Additive Manufacturing technologies to encompass all of the Southwest and Southeast United States. We look forward getting the America Makes Satellite Center at TEES up and running soon,” he concluded.
Dr M Katherine Banks, Texas A&M Engineering Vice Chancellor and Dean of Engineering and National Labs, added, “Texas A&M has one of the largest concentrations of core manufacturing subject matter experts in the country, which makes it the perfect location for American Makes’ newest Satellite Center. As a Platinum-level member of America Makes, we have built a strong partnership with the Institute and will be able to leverage our relationships with industry and academe to accelerate new developments in Additive Manufacturing technologies.”
Managed by NCDMM, America Makes is the US’s national accelerator for AM. As a public-private partnership, it currently has a membership comprised of more than 220 member organisations in the fields of government, industry, and academia. The objective of the America Makes Satellite Center model is to extend the reach of the existing America Makes mission by complementing and expanding its current regional, industrial, and technological footprint.
America Makes founded its first Satellite Center in 2015 at the W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). At the announcement of the second centre, Erin O’Donnell, America Makes’ Director of Partnerships & Community Relations, added, “Today marks an exciting milestone for America Makes. By expanding the Satellite Center network to include another world-class engineering research entity, we are able to capitalise on the strength of our shared goal and synergies to further the innovation in and the adoption of AM technologies.”
“From Youngstown to El Paso and now College Station, America Makes is leading the transition of AM technologies from the research lab to commercialisation,” she continued. “I can’t wait to collaborate with the America Makes Satellite Center teams at both UTEP’s Keck Center and TEES to fulfil the mission of America Makes.”
It was stated that the initial plan is for the America Makes Satellite Center to be located within Texas A&M University’s Emerging Technologies Building. However, the long-term goal is to move the Satellite Center to The Texas A&M University System RELLIS Campus, a multi-institutional research, testing and workforce development campus in Bryan, Texas. The Texas A&M System is currently expanding the RELLIS Campus by developing an additional 2,000 acres at the site.
