RPI to lead regional center of new Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute

While the newest Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute will be headquartered in Los Angeles, it will encompass five regional manufacturing centers.
While the newest Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute will be headquartered in Los Angeles, it will encompass five regional manufacturing centers. | File photo

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.”