For years, Virginia Tech has forged its place as a powerhouse in advanced manufacturing research. With the launch of Virginia Tech Made: The Center for Advanced Manufacturing, the university welds its mission to shape the future of the field with its commitment to train the workforce to lead it.
Housed within the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science, Virginia Tech Made will cultivate cross-campus collaborations, expand partnerships with industry and government, and train manufacturing professionals based on the university’s expertise in advanced materials, manufacturing technologies, computational design, data analytics, and digital infrastructure.
As faculty affiliated with the center advance state-of-the-art technology, they’ll focus on workforce development and outreach as key components of the center’s mission.
That includes not only educating students at Virginia Tech but offering continuing education to engineering professionals and engaging with K-12 students to raise awareness of opportunities in advanced manufacturing.
“Our nation is facing a critical shortage of engineers with skills that meet the demands of future manufacturing jobs,” said Christopher Williams, the L.S. Randolph Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the founding director of Virginia Tech Made.
“It’s inherent to our land-grant mission to work with industry and government to engage students with activities that prepare them for the next era of manufacturing – and that often comes directly through the integration of research and education.
“We know that we can’t wait for talent to come to us – we have to reach out now, across communities, to engage and build the workforce that will power the future.”
What is advanced manufacturing?
If the term “advanced manufacturing” brings to mind a souped-up version of Henry Ford’s assembly line, the reality is more space age than smokestack.
The field spans additive and hybrid manufacturing processes, sensors and artificial intelligence, robotics and automation, cyber infrastructure, augmented and virtual reality, and next-generation materials.
These tools support nearly every major US industry – from aerospace and defense to biopharmaceuticals and automotive – and are key to fueling technological breakthroughs and staying competitive in a global economy.
As the strategic importance of advanced manufacturing increases, demand for Virginia Tech expertise is growing among external partners looking to leverage emerging technologies or co-create custom solutions.
“Virginia Tech Made will be a one-stop shop, bringing together internal and external expertise to access Virginia Tech’s full range of manufacturing capabilities,” said Dan Sui, senior vice president and chief research and innovation officer.
“It is a prime example of our mission to take the world-class research happening in our labs into the world to create tangible, positive outcomes for individuals and communities.”
Faculty bring cross-disciplinary expertise
Led by Williams as the center director, Virginia Tech Made’s executive team includes Zhenyu “James” Kong, the Ralph H. Bogle Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering; Bart Raeymaekers, professor of mechanical engineering; and Prahalada Rao, associate professor of industrial and systems engineering.
After over a decade of putting together teams of interdisciplinary faculty to tackle new manufacturing challenges, more than 30 faculty across four colleges joined Virginia Tech Made. Some of the core College of Engineering faculty in the center’s founding cohort include:
- Pinar Acar, mechanical engineering
- Michael Bartlett, mechanical engineering
- Michael Bortner, chemical engineering
- Jie Chen, mechanical engineering
- Kelsey Coleman, industrial and systems engineering
- Alan Druschitz, materials science and engineering
- Yao Fu, aerospace and ocean engineering
- Ran Jin, industrial and systems engineering
- Blake Johnson, industrial and systems engineering
- Andrea L’Afflitto, industrial and systems engineering
- Lisa McNair, engineering education
- Sourav Saha, aerospace and ocean engineering
- Carolina Tallon, materials science and engineering
- Hang Yu, materials science and engineering
Their expertise encompasses key areas of advanced manufacturing, such as additive manufacturing, advanced materials, data-driven design and intelligence, digital integration and connectivity, robotics and autonomy, and manufacturing systems.
In 2024, these researchers secured more than $10.7 million in new external funding awards for manufacturing-related projects with $34 million in ongoing awards.
Recently, the National Science Foundation awarded Williams, Acar, Bartlett, McNair, and mechanical engineering Assistant Professor Erik Komendera nearly $3 million to study robotic additive manufacturing using digital twins, while Yu entered into a $4.2 million cooperative agreement with the US Army Research Laboratory to study additive friction stir deposition and other solid-state manufacturing methods.
The center intends to engage faculty from across the university to further strengthen Virginia Tech’s ability to respond to the diverse challenges facing today’s industries.
Infrastructure supports innovation
When Virginia Tech ranked third on the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s list of the top 20 institutions in additive manufacturing, one of only eight US entities to make the list, one reason was the university’s broad range of research infrastructure.
Nearly every additive manufacturing modality is represented at Virginia Tech, a rare distinction among US universities. In addition to the individual faculty’s labs, key shared facilities supporting the Virginia Tech research and education mission include:
- Kroehling Advanced Materials Foundry
- Nanoscale Characterization and Fabrication Laboratory
- Materials Characterization Laboratory
- Future Manufacturing Laboratory
- Manufacturing Team labs in the Corporate Research Center
New facilities are also in development. The new Mitchell Hall will feature a 6,000-square-foot high bay laboratory for advanced manufacturing research and education.
Building a talent pipeline
This fall, Virginia Tech Made will host a series of events for internal and external partners focused on economic development, workforce development, and research:
- The Additive Manufacturing and Advanced Materials Tech Hub Conference – September 15
- The Future Manufacturing Workforce Workshop – September 16
- Manufacturing Day – October 3
As part of its mission, the center will also embed hands-on, manufacturing-themed modules in core undergraduate engineering courses to create a “manufacturing spine” in the engineering curriculum.
“We’re not just responding to where manufacturing is going, we’re helping to lead it,” said Julie Ross, the Paul and Dorothea Torgersen Dean of Engineering. “Our Virginia Tech Made faculty are creating the knowledge, partnerships, and talent pipeline that will define what comes next.”
