The new steering committee includes leaders in industry, academia and labor, and will build on progress made by the inaugural Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee, of which Peterson was a member.

“Serving on the first Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee with leaders from industry, academia and government was an honor,” Peterson said. “I’m looking forward to continuing the work to implement the initial Steering Committee’s recommendations, as well as identifying new strategies to help strengthen the U.S. manufacturing sector.”

The Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) was created by Obama in 2011 with the recognition that industry, academia and government must work in partnership to revitalize the country’s manufacturing sector. The original steering committee released a report last year calling for efforts to strengthen the U.S. advanced manufacturing sector.

Several of the committee’s recommendations have been addressed. For example, this fall three new manufacturing-innovation institutes will join the pilot institute created last year in Youngstown, Ohio, as a down payment on the formation of a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. Also, the administration has  proposed an $8 billion fund to help community colleges work with industry on new workforce development and training collaborations.

The new steering committee will function as a working group of Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. It will work closely with the White House’s National Economic Council and Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Department of Commerce to fully implement the initial committee’s  recommendations, scale manufacturing workforce innovations and partnerships, and identify new strategies for securing the nation’s competitive advantage in early-stage technologies.

The committee is chaired by Andrew Liveris, president, chairman and CEO of the Dow Chemical Company, and Rafael Reif, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition to Peterson, other members include Mary Sue Coleman, president of the University of Michigan; Nicholas Dirks, chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley; and the Hon. Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

For more information about the AMP, click here.

To ensure that state and U.S. manufacturing policy is on the right track, five elected office representatives visited the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute in late August to catch up on the latest in manufacturing innovation. Visitors included Chris Carr, chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (Aug. 13); U.S. Rep. Doug Collins and his Field Representative Bill Kokaly (Aug. 21); and Jeremy Collins, chief of staff for Georgia Senate President Pro Tempore David Shafer, and Yosra Khalifa, chief of staff for Georgia Senate Majority Leader Ronnie Chance (Aug. 22).

“Visits like these with elected officials and their teams are critical to GTMI’s mission,” said Dr. Ben Wang, executive director of GTMI. “We are trying to build bridges between research, industry, and our policy makers to improve manufacturing competitiveness in the U.S. These visits allow us to provide information on the types of research that are taking place here at GTMI and why this research is important to meet certain challenges faced by U.S. manufacturers and to improve local and U.S. economies.” 

Dr. Wang guided the guests through several GTMI research facilities. Depending on time, visitors saw the GTMI hi-bay area, digital printing lab, and the Georgia Tech Invention Studio. Graduate students Christopher Oberste hosted guests in the digital printing lab where they discussed current prosthetic research taking place in the lab. As part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs VA Innovation Initiative, GTMI researchers are using 3D printing and printed electronics to improve the comfort of prosthetics used by military amputees. Socket comfort will be improved by 3D printing softer, more pliable materials within the socket that come in contact with the skin, while printed electronics will be used to monitor internal socket temperatures and to identify pressure points.

In the hi-bay area, Dr. Rhett Mayor, associate professor with the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, provided details on micro-manufacturing and new heat transfer technologies. These technologies and manufacturing processes are currently being studied by aerospace manufacturers looking to improve efficiencies in engines and overall system efficiencies through weight reduction and better energy transfer.

Amit Jariwala, director of Design and Innovation at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, showed GTMI’s guests the Invention Studio. A student-run design-build-play space, the Invention Studio is staffed by undergraduate lab instructors and student volunteers. It provides a unique hands on experience in a “student owned” space, promoting creativity, responsibility and community among Georgia Tech students.

Others presenters included Director of Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s Karen Fite. She provided an overview of the GaMEP program and its benefits to Georgia manufacturers.

“This was very informative,” said Rep. Collins after his tour. “This will help me to incorporate these ideas into policy.”

Tours of the GTMI labs are available to industry and elected officials. Please contact Tina Guldberg, direction, strategic partnerships, for more details: tina.guldberg@gatech.edu or (404) 385-4950.

“3D printing is critical to the U.S. economy,” said Dr. Wang. “It will change many aspects of how we will live our lives.”

Dr. Wang pointed to several studies that have been conducted in the past couple of years noting the importance of advanced manufacturing to the United States. The common denominator among all of the studies is the significance and potential impact of 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing.

Policy makers, too, have acknowledged its importance. In fact, the first of the advanced manufacturing institutes recommended by President Barack Obama’s Advanced Manufacturing Partnership was established in August 2012 to study additive manufacturing. Because of its applications to the aerospace and defense manufacturing industries, the Department of Defense, which led the selection process for the first institute, identified additive manufacturing as the most critical area of need for the security of our nation.

“3D printing will change many aspects of our lives, but there are still many advancements to come,” reported Dr. Wang. “The technology was created 25 years ago here in the United States for what we call rapid prototyping, but in the past, we could only use plastics. Today we use materials with much better mechanical properties.”

3D printing also reduces the need for “in stock” components and turnaround time for producing parts. Nowhere is this more critical than in the defense arena. According to Gary Newton, U.S. Navy Deputy Commander, Fleet Readiness Center, “The Navy’s inventory of aircraft is being pressed into service beyond their design life. As a result, components fail that were never expected to be repaired or replaced. With no replacements available in the supply system, long lead times develop for the repair or manufacture.”

In addition, when a ship sets out to sea, it has to stock all parts potentially required for repair while out on the waters. This increases costs for the Navy and the weight of the ships. And more importantly, only about 5 percent of the stock on a ship is used.

With 3D printing, the Navy can shift from “just in case inventory to just in time repair,” explained Dr. Wang. By incorporating 3D printing into the process, lead times drop from the current 8-28 weeks to 2-7 weeks. In addition, 3D printing machines can be installed on the ships, eliminating the need to keep parts in stock on the ship. Parts could be printed by downloading CAD files into the 3D printer and the part is produced as needed. “This,” Dr. Wang noted, “is game changing.”  

The opportunities with 3D printing are boundless. “We can enter mass customization,” said Dr. Wang. “We can personalize products while taking advantage of cost savings and time effectiveness.”

The program ended with a demonstration from PhD student Christopher Oberste. He explained the 3D printing process and answered audience questions while showing a product being produced on a small, portable 3D printer.

The Gwinnett Chamber hosts a Manufacturing and Supply Chain forum quarterly to highlight topics that are current and relevant to the manufacturing and supply chain industries. To learn more, visit the chamber’s Web site at www.gwinnettchamber.org.

“It is an honor for GTMI to be a part of this prestigious group of policy influencers,” said Dr. Wang, executive director, GTMI. “I look forward to working hand in hand with the other Policy Partners, as well as state and national representatives, to improve policies affecting manufacturing and technological innovation.”

“Working Regions” focuses on policy aimed at building sustainable and resilient regional economies in the wake of the global recession. Using examples of four “working regions” — regions where research and design functions and manufacturing still coexist in the same cities — the book argues for a new approach to regional economic development. It does this by highlighting policies that foster innovation and manufacturing in small firms, focus research centers on pushing innovation down the supply chain, and support dynamic, design-driven firm networks.

This book traces several key themes underlying the core proposition that for a region to work, it has to link research and manufacturing activities — namely, innovation and production — in the same place. Among the topics discussed in this volume are the issues of how the location of research and development infrastructure produces a clear role of the state in innovation and production systems, and how policy emphasis on pre-production processes in the 1990s has obscured the financialization of intellectual property. Throughout the book, the author draws on examples from diverse industries, including the medical devices industry and the US photonics industry, in order to illustrate the different themes of working regions and the various institutional models operating in various countries and regions.

Dr. Clark writes on the subject of national and regional development policies related to innovation and manufacturing, and the effect of those policies on cities and their economic competitiveness. Her book “Remaking Regional Economies: Power, Labor, and Firm Strategies in the Knowledge Economy,” a collaboration with Susan Christopherson, won the Best Book Award from the Regional Studies Association in 2009 and is also published by Routledge.

The Forum, themed “The Way Forward to Global Prosperity through Intelligent Manufacturing Collaboration,” will be held Oct. 22-23 at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. The event brings together high-level industrialists, policy makers, and key societal stakeholders from around the world to exchange ideas on major macroeconomic trends and manufacturing innovations. And because technology and skills are key innovation differentiators, the Forum will also discuss the role of educational institutions, companies and unions in training the next-generation of workers in the highly technical field of manufacturing.  

Three of Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute’s External Advisory Board members will serve as speakers at this influential event:

• Dr. Charles Wessner with the National Academy of Sciences will chair a session on “Innovation in Production: The Next Generation of Manufacturing.” Dr. Stephan Biller with GE Global Research will also speak on this topic.
• Dr. Mike McGrath, Analytic Services Inc., will chair the discussion on “Cyber Security Issues for Manufacturing.”
• In addition, Dr. Tom Kurfess, with Georgia Tech’s George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, will chair the presentation on “Game Changing Key Technologies for Manufacturing.”

To learn more about the World Manufacturing Forum, please visit: www.worldmanufacturingforum.org. If you would like to register for the event, please e-mail info@worldmanufacturingforum.org to request your unique registration passcode.

The program will look at how embracing innovation and technology are keys to success in next generation manufacturing. Successful manufacturers of the future must master innovative produce design, sustainable practices, continuous improvement, and workforce development to distinguish themselves in the global market.

“Events like Next Generation Manufacturing are a cornerstone to advancing manufacturing competitiveness in the United States,” said Dr. Wang. “They provide manufacturers an opportunity to learn from others; they promote discussion on challenges and possible solutions; and through such discussions, we learn what we need to do to move forward and to improve our manufacturing sector here in the U.S.”

The event is open to manufacturing executives and senior directors or managers of manufacturing companies. To learn more or to register, please visit www.nextgenerationmfg.org.

Americans may be fond of lamenting the decline of the country's economic clout and the flood of "Made in China" goods, but they may soon have to find something else to complain about.

According to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the U.S. is fast becoming one of the lowest-cost countries for manufacturing in the developed world. BCG argues that average manufacturing costs in Germany, Japan, France, Italy, and the U.K. will be 8 to 18 percent higher than in the U.S. by 2015.

The report states that export manufacturing in the U.S. is a unsung hero of the economic recovery, noting: “Despite all the public focus on the U.S. trade deficit, little attention has been paid to the fact that the country's exports have been growing more than seven times faster than GDP since 2005.”

BCG found that the U.S. is increasingly attractive for businesses due to lower costs of labor, (adjusted for productivity), natural gas, and electricity.

U.S. manufacturing activity hit a five-month high in August as hiring picked up and new orders increased at their fastest pace since January, a Markit report showed last Thursday.

However, BCG’s report argues that we are currently just witnessing the beginning of a major shift in global manufacturing.

“Over the past 40 years, factory jobs of all kinds have migrated from high-cost to low-cost countries,” said Harold L. Sirkin, co-author of the report. “Now, as the economics of global manufacturing changes, the pendulum is finally starting to swing back. In the years ahead, it could be America’s turn to be on the receiving end of production shifts, as more companies use the U.S. as a low-cost export platform.”

To read the full article, visit http://nbcnews.to/15nCVXi.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spearheaded an effort Thursday to bring together retailers, suppliers and government officials so they can figure out how to bring more manufacturing jobs to the United States.

The world’s largest retailer hosted its first two-day U.S. Manufacturing Summit in Orlando, hoping to capitalize on the company’s recent commitment to drive more manufacturing in the U.S. The “made in the USA” campaign could boost Wal-Mart’s image, which is constantly under attack by labor-backed groups who have criticized the retail behemoth as a destroyer of U.S. jobs rather than a creator.

The goal of the summit was to start “connecting the dots” with a dialogue among the 500 manufacturers, officials from three dozen states, eight governors and U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker at the conference, said Bill Simon, president and CEO of the company’s U.S. division.

“It could be difficult for one at a time, all of us on our own,” Simon said. “The best way to overcome the challenges is to talk to one another.”

The summit comes seven months after the Bentonville, Ark.-based discounter pledged that it planned to buy $50 billion more U. S. made goods over the next decade. That's the equivalent of just more than 10 percent of what Wal-Mart will sell at retail this year. Wal-Mart said that if other merchants do the same, it would mean an additional $500 billion in American-made goods over the next decade.

Several companies were quick to get into the spirit at the summit. Kevin Toomey, president and CEO of Kayser-Roth Corp., a North Carolina-based legwear manufacturer, said his company would create over 100 jobs with a $30 million investment, and sock manufacturer Renfro Corp. announced a $10 million investment would bring 195 U.S. jobs.

Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric Corp., announced that the company would be bringing 150 manufacturing jobs to plants in Illinois and Ohio where high-efficient lighting will be built. The $30 million investment will be at plants in Circleville, Ohio; Bucyrus, Ohio; and Mattoon, Ill.

“We wanted to be a part of this,” Immelt said. “This is a first step.”

To be sure, even if Wal-Mart is successful in getting key retailers and suppliers on board, experts say it won’t rejuvenate the U.S. manufacturing industry. But the movement could help stem the tide of jobs flowing to China and elsewhere that has been occurring in the last two decades.

Some experts are skeptical, pointing out that Wal-Mart led the migration of manufacturing jobs overseas in search of the cheapest labor, veering away from the principles of its late founder Sam Walton, who espoused buying American-made goods.

In fact, Burt Flickinger III, president of retail consultancy Strategic Resource Group, says what will be brought back will only be a fraction of business sent overseas.

“It’s a very positive PR move for the company,” Flickinger said. “But it took two decades to unwind the American manufacturing base and it will take two decades to bring it back.”

This is not the first time that Wal-Mart has pledged a made-in America campaign. It pushed a similar program in the mid-1990s that fizzled because it couldn’t get enough low-priced goods to sell to its low-income shoppers. But executives vow its efforts this time around go well beyond a marketing campaign and involve dissecting each of its 1,300 product categories, from bath towels to gadgets, to determine which can be made here.

It’s also reaching out to state and local officials to work with suppliers to explore rebates, training and other programs to attract U.S. makers. Additionally, the discounter also says it’s changing the way it does business with suppliers, giving multi-year commitments for basic goods where it makes sense, instead of season-by-season ordering.

Rebuilding U.S. manufacturing jobs is resonating even more these days. The nation’s unemployment rate of 7.4 percent, while now at a 4 1/2-year low, is still well above the 5 percent to 6 percent typical of a healthy economy.

Meanwhile, Wal-Mart and other major retailers have been under fire for not doing a better job monitoring worker safety in factories overseas. That pressure increased after a factory collapse this past spring in Bangladesh, killing 1,129 people. That was the deadliest incident in the history of the garment industry.

But what could really propel the movement this time around is pure economics: Labor costs are rising in Asia, while oil and transportation costs are high and increasingly uncertain.

Rising wages have erased some of the competitive advantages China had in manufacturing, Wal-Mart's Simon said, and manufacturing jobs offer a path into the U.S. middle class.

“We think we can map out opportunities and put some systems in place and commit to this for the long term,” Simon said. “There’s nothing less than the future of our country at stake here.”

Wal-Mart said several manufacturers had told executives privately they had defined “tipping points” at which making goods overseas will no longer make sense. Wal-Mart says it doesn’t believe that its customers should pay any more for made-in-America goods and is focusing on working with suppliers to make sure the prices are in line with what shoppers want to pay.

“It’s an economic advantage when you have the wind in your back, instead of having the wind in your face,” said Hal Sirkin, a senior partner and managing director at the Boston Consulting Group and an expert on manufacturing. He is serving as a consultant to Wal-Mart. He believes that the movement could create 100,000 more jobs in the next decade.

Wal-Mart, with more than 4,000 stores in the U.S. and about $460 billion in total sales, has proven that it has the clout to get other suppliers and merchants on board. For example, in 2009, Wal-Mart created a coalition among stores, suppliers, government, nonprofit organizations and academic experts for a sustainability index that measure whether goods were made in a responsible way and whether the materials are safe.

Wal-Mart has said that items made, sourced or grown in the U.S. account for about two-thirds of the company's spending on products for its U.S. business, according to data given by suppliers. But analysts say that much of its clothing, home furnishings and consumer electronics are made elsewhere.

One company to sign up is Sleep Studio, which is now working with Wal-Mart to produce memory foam mattress toppers. Before, all of the discounter's toppers were produced by manufacturers overseas. This year, 20 percent will be made in the U.S.

CEO Michael Rothbard said Wal-Mart worked with the company to streamline the costs, eliminating $10 from the price tag. The New York-based company has factories in California and Georgia.

“The selling process was really intense,” Rothbard said. “We had to convince them our products offered unique benefits, and that we could meet their needs.”

The journal, which began in 2008, highlights research being conducted by undergraduate students from all areas of study and gives students a chance to have their work appear in a peer-reviewed publication before even earning a degree.

“As editor, one of my main goals is to increase the viewership and impact of The Tower,” said Editor-in-Chief Mohamad Ali Najia, a biomedical engineering student. The process of getting the journal into the Library of Congress began in May. "This achievement makes a significant step toward realizing that goal, and depicts the growth of The Tower since its inception."

The Library of Congress takes submissions for its collections, reserving the right to select or reject any published work based on the research needs of Congress, the nation’s scholars and the nation’s libraries, according to the Library’s website.

The quality of research featured in The Tower was an important qualifying factor for being accepted into the Library of Congress. The journal attracts undergraduate authors from diverse research fields, ranging from engineering to the social sciences. Historically, after being published in The Tower, nearly 80 percent of those authors who go on to attend graduate school receive a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, becoming the next group of experts and leaders in their fields. 

In addition to producing a print edition each semester, The Tower staff also produces research-related videos and events throughout the year. The most recent edition of the journal can be picked up in racks across campus or read online at gttower.org. Submissions are accepted year-round at gttower.org/submit.

“We are proud to have the opportunity to support a program that will initiate collaboration between the University System of Georgia and the TCSG to better prepare our students for the needs of the modern day manufacturing workforce,” said John Zegers, Center Director, Georgia Center of Innovation for Manufacturing. “We expect this program to grow and become a model for collaboration and preparation for filling those positions which are in most need in today's manufacturing landscape.”

Set to kick off this fall, the pilot program will provide paid internships for outstanding students from the TCSG to work at GTMI for one or more semesters, performing important hands-on work to support fundamental advanced manufacturing research, product development, technology transfer, and operation/maintenance of advanced production and research equipment. The funding provided by the COI will be used to support a portion of the foundational Phase I of the proposed 10-year, three-phase program.

“We’re very grateful for the input and funding provided by the COI for the pilot program which will enable a fall 2013 kickoff and provide immediate benefits to TCSG students and GTMI,” said Morehouse. “The pilot will also build a strong working relationship between GTMI and WGTC, enable continuous improvement on initial program outcomes, and serve as an essential learning experience and model for program expansion into Phases II and III.”

The program is designed to leverage the strengths of the TCSG and GTMI to help address critical skills gaps in the manufacturing workforce in Georgia, including manufacturers’ needs for “jack of all trades” maintenance technicians, highly skilled CNC machine tool operators, and other important skill sets, thereby creating a strong positive impact on Georgia manufacturers, the missions of the TCSG and GTMI, as well as their respective students. GTMI and West Georgia Technical College will provide additional support to the pilot program by dedicating faculty and administrative time.

“We’re very excited about the opportunity to have West Georgia Technical College (WGTC) students working on fundamental research and technology transfer projects at GTMI,” added Morehouse. “Not only will the critical hands-on skill sets they possess serve as tremendous assets to the performance of our projects, the partnership program will offer a supplement to the outstanding education that students currently receive at WGTC, enhance matriculation opportunities into Georgia Tech engineering and other science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) related four-year degree programs. It will also offer an excellent learning opportunity for our engineering students.”

Earlier this year, GTMI and the Technical College System of Georgia formed the TCSG-GTMI Manufacturing Competitiveness Committee to improve manufacturing workforce education and skills in the state. As previously reported, the committee has identified numerous opportunities for collaboration.

“Not only did the program expand on the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute’s education efforts,” said GTMI’s John Morehouse, Coordinator for Education and Workforce Development, “but it will also help increase matriculation of talented undergraduates from partnering universities into manufacturing-related graduate research at GTMI. At the same time, a key goal of the program was to establish the foundation for the development of similar manufacturing-related exchange programs in which Georgia Tech students will travel to international universities, learn a new culture, form collegial relationships with students from around the world, and gain a crucial global manufacturing perspective. As a result of the relationships created with NUAA and THU in this program, we have already initiated conversations about sending Georgia Tech students to their respective universities as early as next summer.”

The program included a non-credit English language course, a technical training program that provided an overview of manufacturing-related research at Georgia Tech, and research experience for those participating in the research track. The technical training program included nine seminars relating to a variety of manufacturing topics, as well as tours of five research labs and the Manufacturing Research Building.

“The lectures and group meetings with the professors and seeing the labs were very special for me,” said student Annie Lo. “It was really nice to see and work with some of the [Georgia Tech] students.”

Student Brian Kuo agreed: “The lab tours, for me, were the best part. It was really cool to see all of the equipment and talk to the staff and researchers. It all correlates to what we’re learning in Taiwan.” 

The nanomaterials research lab made the biggest impression on student Yao Yi. “In Taiwan, we need a day to create buckypaper, but here, we only need two hours. I learned a lot on this trip,” he said.

The trip, however, wasn’t all work and no play. The cultural experience allowed the students to see the Atlanta Braves play the Cincinnati Reds at Turner Field, spend a day a Six Flags, tour both the World of Coke and CNN, enjoy the aquarium and also take a weekend trip to the North Georgia Premium Shopping Outlets. And in true Georgia Tech style, the visiting students raved about local pizza joint, Antico Pizza.

All in all the students expressed that the visit was meaningful and would recommend it to other students. They also noted that they were highly impressed with the campus, from swimming in the Olympic pool at the Campus Recreation Center to the overall look and feel of the grounds. Student Jhang-sian Cai summed it up best, “The Georgia Tech campus is really beautiful. I took several photos, and each one is absolutely beautiful.”

GTMI and GTLI expect to conduct the program again next summer with the key addition of Georgia Tech Students having the opportunity to travel abroad and participate in similar programs. “We’re very pleased that the students from NUAA and THU enjoyed their visit, and we look forward to making improvements to the program and hosting more students,” said Morehouse. “We are also very excited about sending Georgia Tech students to our partnering universities.”

 To get involved or for more information, please contact John Morehouse at john.morehouse@gatech.edu or (404) 385-0895.

“This seminar series offers a rare opportunity to meet with and hear from leaders in the manufacturing field in an intimate setting on a university campus,” said Tina Guldberg, GTMI Director, Strategic Partnerships. “It is a great learning experience for students and practitioners alike.”

Opened to the public, the series has a stellar lineup to date. September speakers and topics include:

• Deutz USA CEO Stephen Corley, “Clean Diesels for a Sustainable Future;”
• Enterprise Innovation Institute’s Dr. Jan Youtie, “Innovation in Small and Medium-sized Manufacturing: A U.S. Policy Perspective;”
• Coca-Cola Freestyle’s Ravind Shrotria, “Shortage of Tooling Engineers and Its Impact on U.S. Manufacturing;” and
• Alain Louchez, the Center for the Development and Application of Internet-of-things Technologies, “The Internet of Things and the Future of Manufacturing.”

The meetings are held each Monday, from noon to 1 p.m., in Room 114 of the Manufacturing Research Building. Attendees are welcome to bring lunch to the meetings. More details are available on the GTMI Web site in the News and Events section. Future speakers and topics will be added to the site, so please check back often for the most up-to-date information.

VentureLab helps create startup companies based on Georgia Tech research. Since its formation in 2001, VentureLab has launched more than 150 technology companies that have attracted more than $700 million in outside funding.

Beyond the overall #2 ranking, UBI Index also placed VentureLab first among early-phase university incubators and first among university incubators supporting a broad range of technologies. Among specific attributes, it ranked among the top ten incubators in the world for economic enhancement, job creation, performance of graduates and post-incubation value.

“This survey shows what Georgia Tech researchers and Atlanta entrepreneurs already know – that VentureLab is part of an innovation ecosystem that is spinning off startup companies to create exciting new ventures, jobs and economic value for the state of Georgia,” said Stephen Fleming, vice president at Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, which houses VentureLab and other units that support startup technology companies.

The goal of VentureLab is to move inventions developed in Georgia Tech’s research program out into the marketplace, said Keith McGreggor, the program’s director. “VentureLab has been a consistent effort for nearly 12 years to get Georgia Tech inventions out into the world,” he said.

Among the top VentureLab graduates are Suniva, a producer of photovoltaic panels; CardioMEMS, which makes implantable medical devices; Innovolt, a leader in technology to protect electronic equipment, and Pindrop Security, which is developing technology to fight phone fraud.

VentureLab is part of an innovation ecosystem that facilitates the growth and development of new ventures in Georgia. Companies formed in VentureLab often become part of the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), Georgia Tech’s technology accelerator.

The UBI study measured participating university incubators on a unique assessment framework with more than 50 performance indicators designed to show the value that the programs create for their ecosystems and clients. The firm judged The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, based at Rice University, as the world’s overall top university business incubator for 2013.

According to the firm, incubators “increase the chances for startups to succeed and achieve growth, shorten the time and reduce the cost of establishing and developing its business.” It said incubators normally offer the following services:

• Access to physical resources
• Access to financial resources
• Access to startup support
• Access to networks
• Access to entrepreneurial training

The majority of the university incubators surveyed by UBI Index were in Europe or the Americas. Other top university incubators in the United States listed in the survey were UB Technology Incubator at the University of Buffalo, Tech 20/20 at the University of Tennessee, Youngstown Business Incubator affiliated with Youngstown State University, the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies at the University of Vermont, Jon Brumley Texas Venture Labs at the University of Texas at Austin, InNOLEvation Accelerator at Florida State University, TEC Edmonton at the University of Alberta in Canada, and ASU Venture Catalyst at Arizona State University.

Research News
Georgia Institute of Technology
177 North Avenue
Atlanta, Georgia  30332-0181

Media Relations Contact: John Toon (404-894-6986)(jtoon@gatech.edu).

Writer: John Toon

“Our role at GTMI reaches well beyond development of new technologies,” said Dr. Ben Wang, Executive Director at GTMI. “Our goal is to translate our pioneering research into real-world applications. Dr. Das developed this technology in GTMI’s lab as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Disruptive Manufacturing Technologies program. Collaborating with industry and government partners, his team was able to develop this innovative solution and now this technology will transform a manufacturing process that has been in place for thousands of years. Ultimately, this will improve competitiveness for manufacturers here in the U.S. and around the world.”

Below is an excerpt from the article:

A Georgia Tech startup has developed a 3D printing technology to transform the way costly metal parts, such as aircraft engine turbine blades and vanes, are designed and made. 

DDM Systems Inc.’s new casting method makes possible faster prototype development times, and more efficient and cost-effective manufacturing procedures after a part moves to mass production.

Using additive manufacturing or “3D-printing” technology, DDM Systems can reduce the time it takes to make first castings of prototype turbine engine components from two years to three months or less. It eliminates 90 percent of material waste and reduces manufacturing cost...

To read the full article, visit the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

GTMI and the TCSG began discussions in February that set the stage for a fruitful partnership to greatly improve Georgia’s manufacturing workforce. Since the initial meeting, the group, led by GTMI’s Coordinator for Education and Workforce Development, John Morehouse, formed the TCSG-GTMI Manufacturing Competitiveness Committee. On May 30^th, the committee conducted a workshop to develop potential partnership opportunities between GTMI and the technical colleges. The goal of the workshop was to identify opportunities that:

1. improve the competitiveness of Georgia manufacturers by enhancing the skill set and knowledge of the manufacturing workforce to meet the immediate and broad needs of the industry,
2. contribute to the missions of the TCSG and GTMI, and
3. improve pathways for matriculation of talented TCSG students into Georgia Tech engineering and other STEM-related programs.

The workshop participants identified nine potential collaboration concepts that could move Georgia’s manufacturing workforce to the head of the class:

• The TCSG Scholars Research Internship program would provide advanced manufacturing training for TCSG students in a research environment that looks at real-word technical challenges. The long-term goal would be to provide TCSG participants with a certificate in Research Technology, however, internships could begin as early as the Fall semester of 2013. 
• TCSG on-site machine shop and fabrication service center internships would allow TCSG students to make parts for GTMI and Georgia Tech research teams, which offers real-world fabrication experience for TCSG students while allowing Georgia Tech to leverage some of the excellent TCSG facilities.
• The Georgia Teacher Academy of Preparation and Pedagogy (GaTAPP) is a TCSG initiative that serves as an alternative certification program for individuals to become educators that have a degree in a field other than education. The partnership between GTMI and TCSG would focus on increasing the quality and number of K-12 teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) with individuals who have hands-on manufacturing experience.
• The Certified Industrial Systems Technology Instructor program would be developed and administered by GTMI. The goal is to create a standard for certification of instructors across the technical college system.
• A 3-5 day Mechatronics Symposium for secondary teachers would develop a line of communication between GTMI, TCSG and secondary schools, and it also would improve STEM knowledge and awareness among secondary teachers.
• A short-term TCSG faculty internship program would allow TCSG faculty to earn continuing education credits by working with GTMI research teams on short-term projects.
• Product development and innovation knowledge would be incorporated into engineering technology programs in the electrical, industrial and mechanical fields. This provides additional educational opportunities for local students and builds upon existing TCSG programs.
• Establishing manufacturing-based, cross-functional team projects would support TCSG’s workforce training goal to develop graduates who work successfully in teams and have an understanding of the complete product development process. This program would also produce a highly desirable “jack-of-all-trades” workforce. Teams could be set up as a hypothetical manufacturing businesses with engineers, accountants, business managers, logistics managers, etc., or teams could support an existing business. 
• A partnership between GTMI, TCSG, and Georgia’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership would match TCSG students seeking manufacturing internships with manufacturers seeking interns.

Following the May workshop, the committee continued with bi-weekly meetings to formalize plans based on these concepts. Project proposals are currently in development and will be presented to the TCSG State Board. Look for more exciting news on this innovative partnership in the months ahead.

The interview can be heard on MMR’s Web site or you can subscribe to the show on iTunes.

The show, which is sponsored in part by the Georgia Association of Manufacturers, features the companies, leaders and innovators in manufacturing’s resurgence. MMR has an audience reach of more than 500,000 industrial sector executives, consultants, authors and economists. 

Lei Ma graduated with a doctorate’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in May of this year.

GTMI is at the forefront of advancing socioeconomic fundamentals like economic stability and national security. In this video, research and industry experts share their perspectives on how the innovative, collaborative, and interdisciplinary approach that fuels manufacturing research at Georgia Tech is key to finding solutions to America's grand challenges.

The Mission of the IAQ is to “fully utilize the leadership of the Academicians worldwide, individually and in teams, to advance worldwide, the knowledge, understanding and communication of the philosophy, theory and practice of all activities involved in achieving quality for the benefit of people.”

Shi also gave a keynote lecture on “Data Fusion for In-Process Quality Improvement” during the 5th Manufacturing Engineering Society International Conference in Spain on June 26.

Shi received his B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering at the Beijing Institute of Technology in 1984 and 1987 respectively, and his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan in 1992.

His research interests focus on system informatics and control for the design and operational improvements of manufacturing and service systems. He is one of the early pioneers in the field. Shi is a Fellow of INFORMS, IIE, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineering, and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute.  He is also a past recipient of the National Science Foundation Career Award and the IIE Albert G. Holzman Distinguished Educator Award.

Looking at the impact of individual institutions, Georgia Tech was the largest in terms of economic impact ($2.6 billion) and second in jobs (20,869).

To calculate the economic impact for FY12, the Selig Center for Economic Growth in the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business analyzed data collected between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012. The annual study is conducted by Dr. Jeffrey M. Humphreys on behalf of the Board of Regents.

“We have been analyzing the University System’s economic impact for a number of years and what is clear is the importance of these colleges and universities on local and state economies from just about every variable: direct spending, income, production of goods and services and jobs,” said Humphreys.

The full study with data for all 31 USG institutions is available at:
http://www.usg.edu/economic_development/documents/usg_Impact_fy2012.pdf

Current and past economic impact studies can be found at: http://www.usg.edu/economic_development/publications/studies

Georgia Tech is one of the nation’s largest materials research universities. More than 200 faculty members are addressing major technologies in fields such as graphene, polymers and photonics. IMat will support and connect research programs across Georgia Tech’s traditional academic disciplines/units, while fostering a network of industry, government and academic research laboratories across the nation.

One major component of IMat focuses on strengthening the connection between the core research strengths in many aspects of materials research at Georgia Tech. This includes development of exploratory Web-based collaboration tools for materials.

“Whether we’re talking about high-efficiency, high-temperature jet engines, solar cells that generate electricity as inexpensively as coal, wind turbines that use magnets free of rare-earth elements, or the biocompatibility of replacement joints and implants, materials matter,” said Cyrus Wadia, assistant director for Clean Energy and Materials R&D in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “The Materials Genome Initiative is catalyzing important collaborative advances from industry, academia and the federal government, so that together we can secure the nation’s future as a leader in this critical technological domain.”

The Materials Genome Initiative is a public-private endeavor that aims to cut in half the time it takes to develop novel materials that can fuel advanced manufacturing and bolster the 21st century American economy.

“Given the vision of Integrated Computational Materials Engineering and the Materials Genome Initiative, the Institute for Materials has an exciting opportunity to link emerging capabilities in materials design and development with advances in U.S. manufacturing,” said David McDowell, founding executive director of IMat. “Inevitably, solutions to the most pressing grand challenges of the coming decades hinge on new and improved materials. Use-inspired research gives rise to innovative products made from these materials that enhance the quality of everyday life.  To this end, the innovation infrastructure envisioned by the Materials Genome Initiative calls for collaboration within and across institutions such as Georgia Tech.”

The other major component of IMat coordinates search of, and access to, distributed campus shared resources that support materials-related research and integrating these within the broader  context of national user facilities.  This will also benefit Georgia companies wishing to take advantage of Georgia Tech’s facilities and materials research expertise.

Each Interdisciplinary Research Institute reports to Georgia Tech’s Office of the Executive Vice President. Visit http://tlw-proxy.gatech.edu/research/ to learn more.

Nearly 16 percent of the companies responding to the survey said work had been transferred to them from outside Georgia, compared to slightly more than 14 percent that lost work to out-of-state facilities. The percentage of companies receiving work from facilities outside Georgia grew from just 11 percent the first year the question was asked in 2005, while the percentage of companies losing work fell from slightly more than 17 percent.

“We have finally seen a crossing of the lines so that more companies are benefitting from in-sourcing than are losing to outsourcing,” said Jan Youtie, director of policy research services in the Enterprise Innovation Institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  “It’s not a huge difference at this point, but it is a positive and consistent trend for the manufacturing community.”

The in-sourced work most commonly came from other facilities in the United States, though a growing percentage of companies reported production transferred to them from outside the United States. The percentage of companies benefitting from this “on-shoring” trend grew to 4.3 percent from 2.6 percent in 2005.

“This may be about the total cost of manufacturing,” said Youtie, who also holds a faculty position in the Georgia Tech School of Public Policy. “Companies are taking a hard look at aspects of production they formerly assumed were cheaper overseas. There are costs involved in outsourcing that may not have been considered before, such as logistics and regulatory issues. Rising foreign labor costs may be another factor.”

Technology-driven companies and those that compete on the basis of innovation are more likely than other firms to benefit from in-sourcing. Larger companies are somewhat more likely to receive work from outside the state than are smaller firms. In some cases, companies both gained work from outside Georgia and lost work to outside facilities.

“The growing need for new technology has also created an interesting convergence between different sectors in Georgia’s manufacturing industry,” said Adam Beckerman, partner-in-charge of the manufacturing and distribution group at Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP. “For example, a piece of robotic equipment that is being used to attach car doors at an automotive production plant happens to be the same equipment that is being used to hold chickens at a nearby food production facility. In coming years, we will see more of these multi-purpose technologies and pieces of equipment having a positive impact on various sectors of the manufacturing industry.”

The Georgia Manufacturing Survey is conducted every two or three years to assess the use of modern manufacturing technology, practices and techniques by Georgia industry. It was conducted by Georgia Tech researchers in collaboration with Kennesaw State University, the Georgia Department of Labor, and the Atlanta accounting firm Habif, Arogeti and Wynne, LLP, a Georgia-based tax, accounting and business advisory firm. The 2012 survey was conducted from February to May of 2012, and received responses from 528 companies that had 10 or more employees.

The survey also asked about a broad range of competitiveness and productivity issues, and focused on current and planned technology use. More than half of the respondents reported using enterprise resource planning, computer-aided design and preventive-predictive maintenance technology. Inventory-focused technologies such as bar-code readers and radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems led the list of future priorities, with 21 percent of companies planning to purchase readers and 18 percent planning RFID investments.

While industrial robots have captured public attention, they aren’t high on the shopping lists of Georgia companies. About 13 percent of the firms surveyed use robots now, but only 5 percent say they plan to add them.  About 9 percent of companies employ advanced materials in their manufacturing, while approximately 6 percent use additive manufacturing – technology for building parts directly from computer-aided design systems.

Although concerns are raised about the role of technology in reducing manufacturing employment, the Georgia Manufacturing Survey did not find a strong relationship between technology adoption and employment decline. Manufacturers using production technologies and techniques were more than 40 percent more likely to have added employment rather than to have reduced employment. A model that controls for sales, capital, industry, year of establishment and other factors found that greater technology use is positively associated with higher employment, noted Phil Shapira, co-director of the survey and a professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Public Policy and a professor of innovation, management and policy at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom.

“One caveat is that the model does not represent manufacturers that went out of business due to technological or other factors,” he said. “That said, job losses related to technology substitution may have been offset by employment gains due to greater competitiveness.”

Though many companies responding to the 2010 survey said they were interested in sustainability, that didn’t translate into dramatic action in the 2012 survey. For instance, only 8 percent of Georgia manufacturers have produced an emissions inventory or carbon footprint of their facilities.

“We saw that companies followed through on plans for waste elimination and efforts to reduce pollution, but we didn’t see an increase in the re-use of materials, remanufacturing, less shipping or more use of renewable energy,” Youtie said. “The basic entry points for sustainability are there, but some areas haven’t seen much progress.”

As in past years, the study compared profitability of companies with different competitive strategies. The return on sales for companies competing on the basis on innovative products, processes or services was twice that of companies competing on the basis of low price. Innovative companies also pay higher wages than companies using other strategies.

“We see that science-based industries are more likely to prioritize innovation as a strategy,” explained Shapira. “Industries such as food and apparel are less likely to compete that way. No group has a large percentage of firms competing on innovation, though companies in any industry can use innovation.”

Seventeen percent of Georgia manufacturers chose low price as their primary competitive strategy, compared to less than 10 percent that compete through innovation or the use of new technology. The most popular competitive strategy was high quality.

Other survey findings included:

• Half of Georgia manufacturers reported export sales, and 23 percent of respondents reported that their exports increased in 2011 over 2009 levels.
• Profits of Georgia manufacturers generally declined between 2010 and 2012, but the profitability difference between companies competing through innovation and those competing on the basis of low price remained.
• When Georgia manufacturers conduct research and development activities, they compared well with manufacturers across the country. However, only a third of Georgia manufacturers conducted R&D in-house, and only 4 percent used public loans or grants to pay for R&D. Less than 20 percent of companies used R&D tax credits available through state and federal sources.

The results show the challenges facing Georgia manufacturers.

“Innovation, advanced technology and sustainability play crucial roles in helping manufacturers achieve competitiveness and maintain it for the future,” the authors wrote. “Manufacturers increasingly must operate using efficient and productive technologies, and with finite resources and greater awareness of environmental impacts.”

Research News & Publications Office
Georgia Institute of Technology
75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 309
Atlanta, Georgia  USA  30308

Media Relations Contact: John Toon (404-894-6986)(jtoon@gatech.edu)

Writer: John Toon

During his 30-year career in the software and financial services industries, Hersh has become known for his entrepreneurial approach to managing large project teams and to driving the growth of innovative startups. In 1999, he helped launch ZC Sterling, a financial services company, where he built one of its business units into a $200 million entity with 350 employees. ZC Sterling was subsequently purchased by QBE, a top 20 insurance company based in Sydney, Australia. Earlier in his career, Hersh worked with GE Capital and Accenture, developing several sales-force automation and expert system software applications. Most recently, Hersh has focused on helping innovative startups as an angel investor and mentor.

When Hersh takes the reins as ATDC’s new general manager, he will direct its array of services designed to help technology entrepreneurs start and build companies that are the backbone of the Georgia’s high tech economy. Recently named to Forbes’ 2013 list of top “business incubators changing the world,” ATDC currently has 34 ATDC Select companies in its incubator program and 250 member companies statewide.

“I look forward to helping build more bridges between Georgia Tech, other Georgia universities, the business and investment community, and economic development entities within the state to fully leverage the amazing talent and assets we have in Georgia,” Hersh said. “My job will be to provide these savvy entrepreneurs the resources they need to turn their ingenuity into thriving companies.”

Blake Patton, interim general manager of ATDC for the past seven months, chaired the search committee that sifted through nearly 100 applicants for the position.

“We were pleased that so many leaders in the community wanted to be part of ATDC’s growth,” Patton said. “It was tough narrowing down the candidates, but we got feedback throughout the process from current ATDC members, CEOs of graduate companies, and local investors. We think Mike Hersh will be a great resource for our company founders who are building innovative tech enterprises aimed at solving big problems.”

Stephen Fleming, the Georgia Tech vice president who oversees ATDC, noted that the search for a new general manager was conducted in parallel with a major realignment of ATDC that was announced in March this year. “We are adding staff, adding new facilities, and adding programming to support the local innovation ecosystem. We are also going to be building new linkages with the Atlanta business community,” Fleming said. “Mike Hersh is the experienced business leader we need for the next phase of ATDC’s growth.”

Hersh holds an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and a master’s degree in information systems from the University of Colorado. He will begin his new position at ATDC the first week in August 2013.

About the Advanced Technology Development Center
ATDC is a startup accelerator that helps Georgia technology entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. Founded in 1980, ATDC has helped create millions of dollars in Georgia tax revenues by graduating more than 140 companies, which together have raised nearly $2 billion in outside financing.

ATDC is part of the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI²) at Georgia Tech, which helps Georgia enterprises improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. ATDC currently has three facilities -- two at Georgia Tech’s main campus in Atlanta and one at Georgia Tech’s facilities in Savannah. It also conducts programming for entrepreneurs online and at other locations in metro Atlanta and beyond.

Research News
Georgia Institute of Technology
177 North Avenue
Atlanta, Georgia  30332-0181

Media Relations Contact: John Toon (404-894-6986)(jtoon@gatech.edu).

Over the past four years, the number of manufacturing jobs has increased rather than decreased. To build on this progress, the President recommended that the United States offer new tax incentives to bring jobs back to the this country and create new tax credits for communities hardest hit by plant closures. “In my State of the Union Address, I also asked Congress to build on a successful pilot program and create 15 manufacturing innovation institutes that connect businesses, universities, and federal agencies to turn communities left behind by global competition into global centers of high-tech jobs,” he said. “Today, I’m asking Congress to build on the bipartisan support for this idea and triple that number to 45 – creating a network of these hubs and guaranteeing that the next revolution in manufacturing is Made in America.”

Obama’s plan for reviving the middle class also calls for new jobs to be created by:

• Rebuilding infrastructure;
• Creating jobs in wind, solar and natural gas that reduce energy costs, carbon pollution and U.S. dependence on foreign oil;
• Exporting American goods around the world; and
• Helping the more than 4 million long-term unemployed Americans.

Business climate changes outlined in the President’s plan include simplifying the tax code, which is “so riddled with wasteful loopholes that many companies doing the right thing and investing in America pay 35 percent, while the corporations with the best accountants stash their money abroad and pay little or nothing at all,” he explained. “I’m willing to simplify our tax code in a way that closes those loopholes, ends incentives to ship jobs overseas, and lowers rates for businesses that create jobs right here in America. While we’re at it, let’s provide tax incentives for manufacturers that bring jobs home. And let’s simplify taxes for small business owners and give them incentives to invest, so that they can spend less time filling out complex forms, and more time expanding and hiring.”

The tax reform offer to his Republican counterparts, however, comes with a caveat. The money that results from tax reform must be used to invest in infrastructure improvement, high-tech manufacturing hubs, and workforce development. “All of these things would benefit the middle class right now in the years to come,” he said. “I’m willing to work with the Republicans on reforming our corporate tax code, as long as we use the money from transitioning to a simpler tax system for a significant investment in creating middle-class jobs.”

Following the speech, the White House released a fact sheet on the jobs package and tax reform proposals outlined by President Obama. Click here for details.

Snowdon, who has 17 years of experience in IBM Research, most recently served as the co-leader of IBM’s Global Technology Outlook reporting to the Vice President of Strategy and Worldwide Technical Operations at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center. Snowdon has been a leader in IBM for developing strategies and driving research efforts worldwide to create innovative solutions for smarter buildings as part of IBM’s Smarter City initiative for which she received an IBM Research Division Outstanding Technical Achievement Award.  She was instrumental in defining a partnership with Columbia, the City University of New York (CUNY), and NYU for research collaboration, which was announced by Mayor Bloomberg, to help address New York City’s energy challenges.

Snowdon is a senior member of IEEE and IIE, and a member of INFORMS and the New York Academy of Sciences. In 2006, she was elected to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering and in 2008, was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni at Georgia Tech. Snowdon is an emeritus member of the Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering (ISyE) Advisory Board, where she served as chair from 2011 until the spring of 2013.  She is also a member of the Georgia Tech College of Engineering Advisory Board and serves on the CUNY Institute of Software Design and Development Advisory Board.

In addition to her Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech, Snowdon holds a B.S. in Industrial and Management Systems Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, and a M.S. in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan.

The technique could facilitate the use of nanoparticles for optical, electrical, optoelectronic, magnetic, catalysis and other applications in which tight control over size and structure is essential to obtaining desirable properties. The technique produces plain, core-shell and hollow nanoparticles that can be made soluble either in water or in organic solvents.

“We have developed a general strategy for making a large variety of nanoparticles in different size ranges, compositions and architectures,” said Zhiqun Lin, an associate professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “This very robust technique allows us to craft a wide range of nanoparticles that cannot be easily produced with any other approaches.”

The technique was described in the June issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology. The research was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

The star-shaped block co-polymer structures consist of a central beta-cyclodextrin core to which multiple “arms” – as many as 21 linear block co-polymers – are covalently bonded. The star-shaped block co-polymers form the unimolecular micelles that serve as a reaction vessel and template for the formation of the nanocrystals.

The inner blocks of unimolecular micelles are poly(acrylic) acid (PAA), which is hydrophilic, which allows metal ions to enter them. Once inside the tiny reaction vessels made of PAA, the ions react with the PAA to form nanocrystals, which range in size from a few nanometers up to a few tens of nanometers. The size of the nanoparticles is determined by the length of the PAA chain.

The block co-polymer structures can be made with hydrophilic inner blocks and hydrophobic outer blocks – amphiphilic block co-polymers, with which the resulting nanoparticles can be dissolved in organic solvents. However, if both inner and outer blocks are hydrophilic – all hydrophilic block co-polymers – the resulting nanoparticles will be water-soluble, making them suitable for biomedical applications.

Lin and collaborators Xinchang Pang, Lei Zhao, Wei Han and Xukai Xin found that they could control the uniformity of the nanoparticles by varying the volume ratio of two solvents – dimethlformamide and benzyl alcohol – in which the nanoparticles are formed. For ferroelectric lead titanate (PbTiO₃) nanoparticles, for instance, a 9-to-1 solvent ratio produces the most uniform nanoparticles.

The researchers have also made iron oxide, zinc oxide, titanium oxide, cuprous oxide, cadmium selenide, barium titanate, gold, platinum and silver nanocrystals. The technique could be applicable to nearly all transition or main-group metal ions and organometallic ions, Lin said.

“The crystallinity of the nanoparticles we are able to create is the key to a lot of applications,” he added. “We need to make them with good crystalline structures so they will exhibit good physical properties.”

Earlier techniques for producing polymeric micelles with linear block co-polymers have been limited by the stability of the structures and by the consistency of the nanocrystals they produce, Lin said. Current fabrication techniques include organic solution-phase synthesis, thermolysis of organometallic precursors, sol-gel processes, hydrothermal reactions and biomimetic or dendrimer templating. These existing techniques often require stringent conditions, are difficult to generalize, include a complex series of steps, and can’t withstand changes in the environment around them.

By contrast, nanoparticle production technique developed by the Georgia Tech researchers is general and robust. The nanoparticles remain stable and homogeneous for long periods of time – as much as two years so far – with no precipitation. Such flexibility and stability could allow a range of practical applications, Lin said.

“Our star-like block co-polymers can overcome the thermodynamic instabilities of conventional linear block co-polymers,” he said. “The chain length of the inner PAA blocks dictates the size of the nanoparticles, and the uniformity of the nanoparticles is influenced by the solvents used in the system.”

The researchers have used a variety of star-like di-block and tri-block co-polymers as nanoreactors. Among them are poly(acrylic acid)-block-polystyrene (PAA-b-PS) and poly(acrylic acid)-blockpoly(ethylene oxide) (PAA-b-PEO) diblock co-polymers, and poly(4-vinylpyridine)-block-poly(tert-butyl acrylate)-block-polystyrene (P4VP-b-PtBA-b-PS), poly(4-vinylpyridine)-block-poly (tert-butyl acrylate)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (P4VP-b-PtBA-b-PEO), polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid)-block-polystyrene (PS-b-PAA-b-PS) and polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PAA-b-PEO) tri-block co-polymers.

For the future, Lin envisions more complex nanocrystals with multifunctional shells and additional shapes, including nanorods and so-called “Janus” nanoparticles that are composed of biphasic geometry of two dissimilar materials.

This research was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) under awards FA9550-09-1-0388 and FA9550-13-1-0101. The conclusions expressed in this news releases are those of the principal investigator and do not necessarily represent the official views of the AFOSR.

CITATION: Xinchang Pang, Lei Zhao, Wei Han, Xukai Xin and Zhiqun Lin, “A general and robust strategy for the synthesis of nearly monodisperse colloidal nanocrystals,” (Nature Nanotechnology, 8, 426, 2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2013.85.

Research News
Georgia Institute of Technology
177 North Avenue
Atlanta, Georgia  30332-0181  USA

Media Relations Contact: John Toon (jtoon@gatech.edu)(404-894-6986).
Writer: John Toon

Jennifer Clark, associate professor at the School of Public Policy and director of the Center for Urban Innovation in the Ivan Allen College, Georgia Institute of Technology is member of the commission

Washington, D.C. -- A University of Virginia Miller Center commission, chaired by former Governors Haley Barbour and Evan Bayh, will hold a news conference Friday, June 13 at 9:30 am at the National Press Club to release a report offering innovative, non-partisan, actionable ideas on how to create middle-class manufacturing jobs.

The report is the first in a series that will focus on creating middle-class jobs. Separate commissions are examining job creation through entrepreneurship and infrastructure investment and will release reports later this year. The effort is part of the Milstein Symposium: Ideas for a New American Century, a Miller Center initiative that is bringing together policymakers, business and industry leaders, scholars, and journalists to define and advance ideas to help rebuild the American Dream.

The report will offer six ideas on how to accelerate the innovative capacity of American manufacturing’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Ideas include providing a more flexible education system, certification programs, and access to financing and technology.

Throughout U.S. history, manufacturing SMEs have been an engine of well-paying, middle-class jobs. Advanced technologies such as 3D printing, major shifts in global demand, and greater emphasis on customization are redefining manufacturing and creating significant growth potential for SMEs.

According to the 2010 Census, manufacturing SMEs employ 4.9-million workers. While overall manufacturing jobs dramatically declined from 1972 to 2010, the share of jobs provided by SMEs grew from 29 to 45 percent.  SMEs were one of the few sectors of the U.S. economy to thrive amid the Great Recession.

Besides Barbour and Bayh, other members of the commission include:

• Rebecca O. Bagley, president and chief executive officer, NorTech, a technology-based economic development organization focusing on Northeast Ohio
• Aaron Bagshaw, president, WH Bagshaw Co., the oldest pin manufacturer in the United States
• Matthew Burnett, founder, Maker’s Row, a company endeavoring to simplify the manufacturing process by connecting designers to domestic manufacturers
• W. Bernard Carlson, chair, U.Va. Department of Engineering and Society; professor of science, technology and history, and the commission’s lead scholar
• Jennifer Clark, associate professor at the School of Public Policy and director of the Center for Urban Innovation in the Ivan Allen College, Georgia Institute of Technology
• John Engler, president, Business Roundtable; former governor of Michigan
• James Fallows, national correspondent, The Atlantic
• James Manyika, director, McKinsey Global Institute; senior partner, McKinsey & Company
• Kate Sofis, executive director, SFMade, a non-profit corporation working to bolster San Francisco’s economic base through local manufacturing
• Howard Wial, director, Center for Urban Economic Development, University of Illinois, Chicago

The news conference will take place in the First Amendment Lounge at the National Press Club, located at 529 14^th St., NW.

It will be live streamed at www.millercenter.org. Media watching the live stream can tweet questions to @Miller_Center or post them at facebook.com/millercenter.

The Milstein Symposium was created by the Miller Center and Howard P. Milstein, a businessman, entrepreneur, civic leader and philanthropist. Support for the program is provided through the Howard and Abby Milstein Foundation and Emigrant Bank.

More information is available at http://millercenter.org/conferences/2013/milstein.