Sneha Prabha Narra, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and her doctoral student William Frieden Templeton displayed the robotic wire arc additive manufacturing process (WAAM), a large-scale process in which tiny weld beads are deposited layer-by-layer to fabricate much larger parts. This cutting-edge technology has the potential to transform on-demand production by reducing waste and manufacturing lead time, with applications in the aerospace, energy and heavy machinery industries.
“It was exciting. He asked very thoughtful questions that reflected his interest in the technology,” said Narra, who added that Biden affirmed the need to broaden the pool of talent necessary to keep the U.S. at the forefront of technology.
For Templeton, this was his first time providing a demonstration. He said it was inspiring to see that the president cared not only for reviving existing industry but transforming its future.
“He really seemed to understand that these additive manufacturing technologies are part of the future of manufacturing in America. I think he understood why we were doing our research and how it fits into the bigger picture,” Templeton said. “He’s the president, he could have been doing a million things today, but he values the work we’re doing here enough to spend 20 minutes talking to us.”
Sandra DeVincent Wolf, executive director of the Manufacturing Futures Institute and NextManufacturing Center, served as the faculty host for the demonstrations. In addition, Divyash Kaushik, president of the CMU Graduate Student Assembly, and Alexis Ozimok, student body president, were in attendance to welcome President Biden.
Mill 19 at Hazelwood Green is the former site of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company, where workers once produced more than 1 million tons of steel annually. Today the site is being redeveloped by The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, The Heinz Endowments and the Richard King Mellon Foundation into a hub for technology and cutting-edge industry.
“At this inflection point for U.S. competitiveness, the nation is at the cusp of building an innovation-based economy through historic investment in our talent and workforce, in our research and development enterprise and in our national infrastructure,” President Jahanian said during today’s welcome remarks.
The university maintains a significant presence at the site and was the first tenant in Mill 19, which includes CMU’s Manufacturing Futures Institute and the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing nonprofit.
In 2021, Carnegie Mellon and the Richard King Mellon Foundation announced a historic partnership to make a transformational investment in science and technology with a record $150 million grant, of which $75 million will support the construction of a new robotics innovation center, the Manufacturing Futures Institute at Hazelwood Green and the creation of technology jobs that are accessible to the entire community.
This was Biden’s first visit to campus as president. Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Biden has returned to the state many times. This is his second visit to Pittsburgh as president, and he previously visited Mill 19 as a presidential candidate in 2020.
The last time a sitting president visited Carnegie Mellon was 2016 when former President Barack Obama hosted the White House Frontiers Conference, a national event that focused on building U.S. capacity in science, technology and innovation. In 2021, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo visited CMU when it hosted the inaugural United States-European Union Trade and Technology Council meeting.
Pittsburgh’s innovation economy is strong and growing thanks in large part to world-class research institutions such as CMU. A recent study by CMU’s National Robotics Engineering Center highlights how the institution has created a dramatic transformation of Pittsburgh’s regional economy and the robotics industry at large.
CMU is a leader in federal, state and local policy conversations, and faculty and administration officials have provided key testimony for congressional committees. In 2021, President Jahanian testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Science, Space and Technology Committee to call for increasing federal support for research.
“The bottom line is this. It takes all of us working together — all of us working together — to get this done, and that’s finally beginning to happen,” Biden said at the Mill 19 event. “When the federal government invests in innovation, it powers up the private sector to do what it does best. Creating new technologies and most importantly, new jobs.”
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