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N.C. A&T to house new DOD Regional Machine Tools Workforce Training Center

“Industry demand for machine tool operators, engineers, designers, and entrepreneurs far outpaces our manufacturing workforce supply in the U.S.,” said Aixi Zhou, Ph.D., chair and professor in the Department of Applied Engineering Technology. Zhou will serve as director of the new hub. “At North Carolina A&T, we are leveraging this opportunity with America’s Cutting Edge to better serve our students and community. We stand ready to address the overall manufacturing skills gap in this country and directly bolster our nation’s machine tool workforce to help DoD meet its supply chain needs. This partnership with DoD is a great opportunity for many high school and college students in the region to receive hands-on education and strengthen North America’s national competitiveness in manufacturing.” 

ACE Machine Tool Center at N.C. A&T

America’s Cutting Edge (ACE) is a national initiative for machine tool technology development and advancement. It is supported by the Department of Defense Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program from the Office of Industrial Policy. The machine tool research and development for ACE is based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), whose Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) is a global leader in developing and validating systems and processes that leverage digital frameworks for manufacturing innovation. The ACE program’s intent is to train the next-generation machine tool workforce, including future manufacturing engineers, machine tool designers, entrepreneurs, machinists, and others.