Each year, the NIST Office of Advanced Manufacturing enjoys the unique privilege of convening the Manufacturing USA network for its annual meeting. The 2025 Manufacturing USA Network Meeting was an energizing gathering of over 80 representatives from the program’s 18 manufacturing innovation institutes and supporting federal agencies. Over a day and a half in Washington, DC, the meeting featured several invited speakers, highlights from the institutes and federal agencies, and plenty of networking opportunities.
Semiconductor Focus: Opening Keynote and Newest Institute
After a video welcome from one of the House Manufacturing Caucus Co-Chairs and a video premiere (Innovation and Collaboration: The Manufacturing USA Advantage), Gregg Bartlett, CTO of GlobalFoundries, delivered the opening keynote. Bartlett’s talk discussed Moore’s Law as it applies to the world of semiconductor manufacturing and how current innovations go beyond Moore, requiring additional diversification. He shared pillars of success for semiconductor manufacturing, the importance of embracing technology in U.S. manufacturing, and discussed the value GlobalFoundries has found through its Manufacturing USA institute membership.
Attendees heard from Ty Middleton, Chief Workforce Officer at SMART USA, the network’s newest institute. Middleton presented a brief overview of the institute’s launch and continued progress. Michelle Schwalbe, Senior Board Director at the National Academies, joined the meeting to share an update on the ongoing study, “A Vision for the Manufacturing USA Program in 2030 and 2035.”
Sharing Promising Practices Across Institutes
This year’s agenda included three new session formats designed to foster dialogue and information exchange between the public and the private partners of our network. During the Institute Insights sessions, institutes shared recent updates and discussed critical topics like shared-use pilot facilities, best practices for collaborations, and methods for building a successful innovation ecosystem. A new Communities of Practice session offered time for attendees to discuss the issues most pertinent to their areas of expertise and to benefit from the experiences of others. Agency leads Mike Molnar (NIST), Diana Bauer (Department of Energy), and Keith De Vries (Department of Defense) participated in a new “fireside chat” session to share their successes over the prior year, thoughts on the value of advanced manufacturing, and their agencies’ roles in supporting the network’s mission.
The Race for Global Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing
Day two of the meeting began with an informative talk by Rob Atkinson, Founder and President of ITIF. Rob’s presentation, “America’s Advanced Manufacturing Challenge,” shared research from ITIF’s Hamilton Index. He focused on the recent performance of China in manufacturing and innovation in advanced technology industries. Continuing the international benchmarking theme, Atkinson was followed by Mike Molnar, who debuted a new NIST study, “China’s Manufacturing Innovation Centers: A Benchmarking Report for the Manufacturing USA Network.” Molnar presented information about the Chinese government’s flagship manufacturing innovation program.
The meeting wrapped up with a share-out of network workforce updates from Brad Conrad (NIST), Charlene Stokes (Department of Defense), and Kate Peretti (Department of Energy). Conrad described the progress of ongoing projects involving advanced manufacturing credentialing, training programs, and the new EWD Connect portal. Stokes described how the institute workforce programs align with broader Department of Defense work. Peretti, presenting on behalf of colleague Nebiat Solomon, shared that a new roadmap is forthcoming for the Department of Energy workforce programs and how the agency is supplementing efforts through initiatives such as the Community Energy Innovation Prize.
Many thanks to the speakers and staff who helped produce a wonderful event. It is an honor to bring this dynamic group of stakeholders together each year. We are continually inspired by their dedication and excited to see how ongoing collaboration positions the U.S. for global leadership in advanced manufacturing.