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IACMI Officially Launches at Knoxville Conference

If you see convention delegates around Knoxville in the next few days wearing name tags that say IACMI, give them a big welcome! About 375 people are here from across the country for the inaugural members meeting of the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, a multi-state effort led by the University of Tennessee and headquartered in Knoxville.

Mayor Rogero with (from left) Taylor Eighmy, UT Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement; Thom Mason, Director of ORNL; Craig Blue, CEO of IACMI; and David Millhorn, UT Executive Vice President.

IACMI -- pronounced "eye-ack-me" by conference attendees -- was announced in January by President Barack Obama as the fifth national institute for manufacturing innovation. It will focus on applications for advanced composite materials, including:

Lightweight vehicles with record-breaking fuel economy;
Lighter and longer wind turbine blades;
High pressure tanks for natural gas-fueled cars;
Lighter, more efficient industrial equipment.

Mayor Rogero greeted the delegates this morning, along with ORNL Director Thom Mason; David Millhorn, Executive Vice President of the University of Tennessee; Tom Rogers, ORNL's Director of Industrial and Economic Development Partnerships; and IACMI CEO Craig Blue.

This meeting is the official kick-off of an initial five-year phase of IACMI. Fittngly, speakers addressed the audience from a carbon fiber podium, created in a single piece by an ORNL 3D printer. (Seen in photo, below.)

Mayor Rogero at IACMI

Posted by On 17 June, 2015 at 3:47 PM