NASA Langley, Virginia's Advanced Manufacturing Center Join Forces

Dec. 3, 2013

CCAM industry members include Canon Virginia Inc., Chromalloy, Newport News Shipbuilding, Rolls-Royce, Sandvik Coromant, Siemens, Sulzer Metco, Aerojet, Hermle Machine Co., Mitutoyo, TurboCombustor Technology Inc., Buehler, Cool Clean Technologies, GF AgieCharmilles, Blaser Swisslube and Mechdyne.

Adrienne Selko

NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., and the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) in Richmond, Va., announced today that the have will be working together to advance technology and innovation

The space agency will be the first government member of the applied research center.

"This is an important day for CCAM as we welcome the nation's space agency as a key player in helping to lead research and development in aerospace, space exploration, satellite systems, consumer products and other industries," said Armand F. Lauzon, Jr., Chairman of the CCAM board.

NASA will bring access to government facilities and programs in addition to conduct ing R& D at CCAM. NASA will work with CCAM's industry partners as well as the University of Virginia, Virginia State University, and Virginia Tech.

"It's an exciting partnership that will strengthen our nation's engineering and manufacturing capabilities," said Stephen Jurczyk, NASA Langley's acting center director

"NASA inventions and technologies have changed history and the products we use every day," said Dr. Michael Beffel, CCAM interim president and executive director. "CCAM research will benefit from the agency's longstanding pursuit of innovation."

CCAM is based at a state-of-the-art facility in Prince George County, Va., that provides production ready advanced manufacturing solutions to member companies across the globe. Members guide the research, leveraging talent and resources within CCAM and Virginia's top universities through a collaborative model that enables them to pool research and development efforts to increase efficiencies.

About the Author

Adrienne Selko | Senior Editor

Focus: Workforce, Talent

Follow Me on Twitter: @ASelkoIW

Bio: Adrienne Selko has written about many topics over the 17 years she has been with the publication and currently focuses on workforce development strategies. Previously Adrienne was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck? which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics and EHS Today.

Editorial mission statement: Manufacturing is the enviable position of creating products, processes and policies that solve the world’s problems. When the industry stepped up to manufacture what was necessary to combat the pandemic, it revealed its true nature. My goal is to showcase the sector’s ability to address a broad range of workforce issues including technology, training, diversity & inclusion, with a goal of enticing future generations to join this amazing sector.

Why I find manufacturing interesting: On my first day working for a company that made medical equipment such as MRIs, I toured the plant floor. On every wall was a photo of a person, mostly children. I asked my supervisor why this was the case and he said that the work we do at this company has saved these people’s lives. “We never forget how important our work is and everyone’s contribution to that.” From that moment on I was hooked on manufacturing.

I have talked with many people in this field who have transformed their own career development to assist others. For example, companies are hiring those with disabilities, those previously incarcerated and other talent pools that have been underutilized. I have talked with leaders who have brought out the best in their workforce, as well as employees doing their best work while doing good for the world.