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Visionary, master innovator Sandy Munro to present on electric vehicle transition implications at IACMI Fall 2021 Members Meeting

We are less than a month away from our Fall 2021 Members Meeting! Be sure to register as we welcome compelling speaker Sandy Munro to the stage.

Munro will discuss the implications for the transition from internal combustion engines (ICE) to electric vehicles, citing it as the largest disruption of the automotive industry since 1908 when the invention of the starter motor for ICE's killed off electric vehicles at the time.

Munro serves as the Founder and CEO of Munro & Associates, and he has over 40 years’ of hands-on experience implementing change through innovation and hard work. Crowned the “Teardown Titan” by the Society of Automotive Engineers, Sandy is known as the straight-shooting prognosticator, offering blunt but honest critiques of product designs. Working on everything from Barbie® to the International Space Station, Sandy’s patented Lean Design® methodology has made him the go-to solution provider for cost reduction and quality improvement.

Join us October 5-7 in Detroit, Michigan to hear more high-level speakers, panel discussions, and so much more!

Sponsorship opportunities available for

Fall 2021 Members Meeting

We are excited to welcome our IACMI members and core innovation partners to our in-person event in Detroit. A shout out to our premium and gold sponsors listed below who are helping make our premier event a success. Additional sponsorship opportunities are still available and offer a unique platform to promote your company and your latest achievements, products, and services to our highly targeted audience.

Click here to learn more and become a sponsor, or contact Kim Hoodin at khoodin@iacmi.org for more information.

Keeping You Safe

Our team is working to make sure your participation in the Members Meeting is safe so you can focus on convening, connecting and getting down to business.

Learn more about the measures we are taking to keep you safe.

Member Spotlight

HAPPENING NEXT WEEK: Join us during your lunch break on Tuesday, Sept. 14 for IACMI's Innovation Insights webinar!

Register here!

Our monthly webinar series "Innovation Insights" continues, as IACMI Chief Commercialization Officer Dale Brosius will moderate discussions on recent technology advancements that industry may not be fully aware of.

On Tuesday, September 14 at 12PM ET, join us for a one-hour series of presentations from IACMI members and partners, where they will provide background on new technology, products, and the key advantages provided, as well as application examples.

In our next episode you will hear from:

Soydan Ozcan, Ph.D., Senior R&D Scientist, ORNL

Recent Advances in Composites Recycling and Supporting Capabilities at ORNL – Circular economy and recycling are increasing in importance for all plastics, including polymer composites. Built for durability, composites are inherently difficult to recycle, however new solutions are being demonstrated to make end-of-life recycling economically practical. This presentation will focus on some recent work conducted in this area, and additions to the equipment portfolio at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that can be accessed by industry.

Dustin Davis, Director of Sales and Business Development, Norplex-Micarta & Lucy Houchin, General Manager, Norplex Advanced Composites

Glass Epoxy Materials for High Fatigue Load Applications – Norplex Advanced Composites is a new business that brings decades of Norplex-Micarta’s composite material production excellence to the advanced composites market. With a focus on cost effective solutions for the middle market, a key initial product is the NorPLY brand of unidirectional glass epoxy sheets that excel in fatigue and dynamic loading applications. This presentation will detail the history of the product line, introduce applications, and highlight product line extensions that are planned such as prepregs that will allow customers to build custom geometries.

Kevin Keith & Haley Marie Keith, Co-founders, MITO Material Solutions

Highly Engineered Additives for Every Day Products – When graphene and its derivatives were introduced into design parameters roughly 10 years ago, it was hailed as a “wonder material” due to the material properties it showed. It requires a totally homogenous dispersion though, leaving it largely available to select high-tier markets after years of R&D. MITO Materials has developed a hybrid additive based on graphene and has proven that it does not need a homogenous dispersion to achieve upwards of a 135% increase in mechanical properties at a much lower concentration while not requiring special mixing parameters. This allows graphene based products to penetrate markets once thought untouchable.

Join us during your lunch break for these engaging presentations. There will be time for Q&A opportunities for the audience.

From left, IACMI Workforce Director Joannie Harmon and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy Jesse Salazar

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy Jesse Salazar engages with ACE CNC machining training participants

IACMI and Oak Ridge National Laboratory welcomed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for Industrial Policy Jesse Salazar to Knoxville in August to engage with the newest class of America’s Cutting Edge (ACE) CNC machining training participants – many of whom are veterans or active service members.

Mr. Salazar observed as veterans and ACE instructors machined parts for air engines on state-of-the-art CNC machines at ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility.

The DASD and the group of veterans from University of Tennessee, Knoxville's SERVE program discussed the important role a skilled manufacturing workforce plays in restoring the prominence of the U.S. machine tool industry.

Through ACE, DOD aims to revitalize the U.S. machine tool sector through transformative thinking, technology, and training. Among those joining Mr. Salazar were Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program Director Adele Ratcliff, IACMI Workforce Director Joannie Harmon and University of Tennessee, Knoxville professor and ORNL Joint Faculty Dr. Tony Schmitz.

Learn more about ACE at www.iacmi.org/ace.

Vertical axis wind turbine research

could revolutionize remote power generation

Recyclable thermoplastic composites may soon enable decentralized wind-based power generation, thanks to the work of an IACMI-supported innovation team led by Steelhead Composites.

Vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) seem well-suited to meet decentralized or remote energy needs, like powering marine vessels, isolated cell phone towers, or disaster relief work. But VAWT technology requires continued development if it is to become commercially viable for such widespread deployment. To that end, companies like Steelhead Composites are undertaking design, material and manufacturing technological development.

By investigating and developing thermoplastic composites technology for VAWT application, a project completed by a coalition of Steelhead, Colorado State University and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and material supplier Arkema, advances the commercial potential of VAWTs for decentralized energy production. The project is supported by IACMI and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Learn more about IACMI’s VAWT project.

Since being launched, IACMI has managed 50+ DOE-funded collaborative and industry-led technical projects, with more than 90 IACMI members participating on those projects, and with more than $150 million in research and development value.

DOE seeks input for new Clean Energy Manufacturing Institute

to catalyze industrial decarbonization

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a request for information (RFI) to inform the creation of a new Clean Energy Manufacturing Institute focused on industrial decarbonization. Released by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the RFI seeks input from stakeholders in identifying key opportunities to decarbonize energy-intensive sectors across America's economy through public-private collaboration.

The RFI requests input on two topic areas of interest, electrification of industrial processes and decarbonizing the metals industry. Stakeholder input will help provide focus for the potential new Institute to contribute technological advances for widespread industrial decarbonization.

Responses to this RFI are due on September 23, 2021 by 5:00 PM ET.