President Barack Obama recently announced that the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition (SMLC), which includes Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, will lead the newest Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute, working to develop smart sensors to make U.S. manufacturing more efficient.
“Advanced manufacturing is accelerating the
translation of U.S. innovations in science and technology into new products and
processes, and helping to create jobs across all technology sectors,” Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson said. “We are very pleased that Rensselaer
has been selected to lead the Northeast center of a new Smart Manufacturing
Innovation Institute, and to contribute even more vigorously to the
revitalization of our nation’s manufacturing base.”
While the newest Smart Manufacturing
Innovation Institute will be headquartered in Los Angeles, it will encompass
five regional manufacturing centers, including the Northeast center to be
managed by RPI. The center will focus on glass, ceramic and microelectronics
manufacturing.
“At Rensselaer, we work within a paradigm
that we term The New Polytechnic, in which we serve as a great crossroads for
collaboration – working with partners across disciplines, sectors, and
geographic regions – to address complex global challenges, using the most
advanced tools and technologies, many of which are developed at Rensselaer,” Jackson said. “The leadership we provide to the Smart Manufacturing Innovation
Institute will be the finest possible example of The New Polytechnic in
action.”