The PrecisionPath Consortium for Large-Scale Manufacturing

NIST AMTech Program

UNCC Metrology

Photo courtesy of UNC Charlotte

Established in 2013, the NIST AMTech Program reinforces strategic partnerships between U.S. industry, academia and government. The program strives to form new industry-led consortia and strengthen existing ones with the aim of tackling shared technical barriers to the growth of advanced manufacturing. NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology to enhance economic security and improve quality of life. To learn more about NIST, visit www.nist.gov.

In 2015, NIST announced 16 awards totaling $7.8 million to help accelerate the growth of advanced manufacturing in the United States. The AMTech Program awarded the grants to universities and nonprofit organizations in 11 states and the District of Columbia. Thirteen of the projects launched new consortia, including the PrecisionPath Consortium for Large-Scale Manufacturing. The grants range from $413,000 to $500,000 for a period of up to two years. All will initiate technology roadmapping activities or similar efforts intended to identify, prioritize and align research and development in targeted industry sectors.

New River Kinematics Automation

Courtesy of NRK (New River Kinematics)

More than 40 organizations will share funding for work done in support of the 16 projects. In addition, more than 250 businesses, trade associations, universities and other organizations will collaborate as unfunded partners.

The new AMTech-funded projects span a wide variety of industries and technologies, from next-generation gas turbines and aerospace manufacturing to hybridized semiconductor and synthetic-biology devices and glass manufacturing. “These projects will set a path for innovation and productivity growth in established and emerging U.S. manufacturing industries,” said Willie E. May, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director. “Partnerships like these are needed to tackle shared technical obstacles and, ultimately, to capture the practical and economic benefits of new knowledge, new technologies and new capabilities.”

Visit the NIST website to read summaries of the AMTech-funded projects and to see maps of the locations of the projects’ lead organizations and their funded partners.