On January 13-14, the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) held its second membership meeting near Detroit, Michigan. IACMI, headquartered in Knoxville, TN is a public-private partnership creating clean energy solutions and catalyzing manufacturing competitiveness across the U.S. advanced composite ecosystem.   IACMI is the fifth Institute in the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), and is supported by the DOE's Advanced Manufacturing Office. After kicking off in June of 2015, the January membership meeting was the first chance to share progress of the consortium. The Institute has made progress in laying the groundwork for the consortium, and looks forward to taking that momentum into the upcoming months to advance further on the technical objectives and achieve increased growth.

The day and a half-long meeting included presentations highlighting successful collaboration efforts between members, and also provided an opportunity to discuss goals and research opportunities going forward. One of the most valuable aspects of the meeting was the ability of members to network and engage with one another - the almost 300 members in attendance were able to see the unique perspectives and value they added to the consortium and how they could potentially come together for future project proposals. Board of Directors Member Rani Richardson was very excited about the meeting's success. "The meeting last week highlighted IACMI's effectiveness as well as the momentum of the consortium. It was only the second meeting, however, it added clarity to questions, refined the direction and focus of IACMI and provided insight to the objectives as we move forward," Richardson said.

IACMI members were pleased to welcome Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (12th District) to the meeting. All three expressed their support for IACMI's mission and the announcement of IACMI's new collaboration in the decision to co-locate a key IACMI R&D facility with Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow (LIFT), the DOD led Institute focused on lightweight metals manufacturing.  The decision paves the way for increased innovation to support the automotive industry with multi material solutions and potential collaboration across Institutes.

For those in the composites industry, IACMI offers different ways to get involved. IACMI is looking for new members to join as part of their tiered membership structure that offers various benefits at different levels of participation. To apply or learn more about IACMI membership, click here. The consortium also currently has an open Request for Proposals. Successful projects will support development, demonstration, and scale-up of new composite materials and manufacturing methods to meet IACMI goals for improving cost-effectiveness and energy efficiency in the manufacturing and deployment of products in the strategic application areas of automotive, wind energy, and compressed gas storage. Cross-cutting projects in the areas of materials, recycling of composites, NDE and process simulation and modeling are also of interest.

Workforce development is a key focus within the Institute.  IACMI and the American Composites Manufacturing Association (ACMA) are partnering to determine where future efforts should be focused regarding workforce development and education. To provide feedback and respond to their Workforce Survey, click here.

The meeting offered members and stakeholders an opportunity to learn about progress, make connections and opportunities for participation.  The next year IACMI will launch new projects, establish key research capabilities, expand membership and engage in innovative research to accelerate development and commercial deployment of advanced fiber reinforced polymer composites. The next Member meeting is scheduled for July 26-28, 2015 hosted by Purdue University.

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