Federal Announcements

The U.S. National Science Foundation announced the first Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT) investment of $18.8 million to 27 teams at U.S. institutions of higher education. The ExLENT program aims to expand practical learning opportunities for individuals interested in entering or gaining more experience in key technologies, such as advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum information science and semiconductors and microelectronics.

The Department of Defense awarded six Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program (DMCSP) grants totaling approximately $30 million from the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation. The DMCSP makes long-term investments in critical skills, facilities, workforce development, research and development, and small business support to strengthen the national security innovation base.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, through its Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization (MCEIP) office, issued an award to E-VAC Magnetics, LLC (E-VAC) to establish a domestic rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing capability. E-VAC is part of VAC Group, a manufacturer of rare earth permanent magnets.

A $72.5 million investment from the U.S. National Science Foundation will drive the design, discovery and development of advanced materials needed to address major societal challenges. The Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) program will fund 37 new four-year projects. DMREF projects include industrial partnerships to facilitate technology translation and train the future U.S. workforce in materials development and deployment.

The U.S. National Science Foundation announced 24 research and education projects with a total investment of $45.6 million to enable rapid progress in new semiconductor technologies and manufacturing as well as workforce development. The projects are supported by the NSF Future of Semiconductors (FuSe) program through a public-private partnership spanning NSF and four companies.

The Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a program of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has published a guide to help manufacturers find workforce-related programs and services offered by MEP Centers in every state and Puerto Rico.

The U. S. National Science Foundation announced a $120 million investment over five-year to support four new Science and Technology Centers (STCs). Since program inception in 1987, the STC: Integrative Partnerships program has supported exceptionally innovative, complex research and education projects that have opened up new areas of science and engineering and developed breakthrough technologies.

The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) has made one cooperative agreement award to the Puerto Rico Manufacturing Extension Inc. (PRiMEX) under the NIST MEP Notice of Funding Opportunity, 2020-NIST-MEP-MDAP-01.

The U.S. National Science Foundation announced 16 finalists for the first-ever NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) competition, spanning a range of key technology areas and societal and economic challenges highlighted in the "CHIPS and Science Act." The NSF Engines will link up with local and regional partners to expand innovation across the nation and create collaborative and inclusive technology-driven innovation ecosystems.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration is awarding a $748,849 grant to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, to bolster Tennessee’s manufacturing sector. This grant will develop and implement a manufacturing growth model designed to improve workforce participation across Tennessee.