TMEP Receives NIST MEP Grant

The University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services (UT CIS) has been awarded a $1,000,000 grant funded by the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP).

This funding opportunity is available for MEP Centers to add capabilities to the MEP Program including the development of projects to solve new or emerging manufacturing problems that are not already provided for under a Center’s base MEP award.

Project themes for these awards have included new manufacturing technologies of relevance to small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs), particularly those related to Industry/Manufacturing 4.0; supply chain management technologies and practices; and workforce intermediary and business services.

"This new project allows us expand the work to help manufacturers integrate technologies from institutes across the country," says UT CIS Advanced Manufacturing Consultant Danny Norman. "These technologies can help Tennessee manufacturers maintain competitiveness by enhancing existing operations including robotics, digital manufacturing, advanced machine repair.  The technologies also provide the opportunities to consider producing the next generation of products including flexible computers, photon based processors, advanced metals, smart fabrics and biopharmaceuticals." 

UT CIS, which serves as the NIST- designated MEP center in Tennessee, will establish a MEP National Advanced Tech Team. The project will focus on developing capabilities for the transfer of technology based on the needs of small and medium-sized manufacturers and the available technologies of higher education, laboratories and other technology producing entities.

The project’s Tech Team of MEP Center experts will be responsible for understanding readiness and applicability of technologies and finding similar technological expertise at local universities, national laboratories and Manufacturing USA Institutes. Tennessee MEP will partner with New York MEP and coordinate with Impact Washington, the MEP Center in Washington state.

For additional information about the NIST MEP program, please visit https://www.nist.gov/mep or http://mepnnams.com/.