Supply chain disruptions during COVID-19 brought to light how interdependent nations are when it comes to manufacturing. The inability of the U.S. to produce such needed goods as test kits and personal protective equipment during the pandemic revealed our vulnerabilities as a nation. China's rise as a global production superpower has further underscored the weaknesses of American manufacturing. In addition to fixing supply chain disruptions, bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. will benefit national security. Advanced computer chips, for example, are disproportionately made by a single firm, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. These microchips are critical to smartphones, medical devices and self-driving cars, as well as military technology. TSMC, from a U.S. national security perspective, is located too close to China. Taiwan's proximity to China makes it vulnerable because the Chinese government threatens to use force to unify Taiwan with the mainland. My research and that of others examines how the lack of manufacturing competitiveness in the U.S. leaves the U.S. vulnerable to shortages of critical goods during times of geopolitical disruption and global competition. The strategies the U.S. employs in bringing back manufacturing, along with innovative practices, will be key to ensure national security....
The U.S. Navy is beginning to build 12 top-of-the-line nuclear submarines , with the first one scheduled to be completed by 2027. But it is missing a critical ingredient: many of an estimated 50,000 skilled workers to get the job done. It also lacks a reliable supply chain and the infrastructure to build the massive vessels. Across America, industries are facing enormous supply chain delays, worker shortages and places to build due to several decades of offshoring and deemphasizing manufacturing research, education and training in the U.S. For example, the textile industry is experiencing a 20% worker shortage, and the metal fabrication industry expects a 400,000-worker shortage by 2024. The first decade of the 21st century alone saw U.S. manufacturing jobs decline by one-third, falling from 17 million in 2000 to below 12 million in 2010. I am a manufacturing researcher who works on ways to solve a key part of American manufacturing challenges: preparing workers to leverage today's technology while advancing tomorrow's technology. A new workforce skilled in the design and operation of new and existing machine tools is needed to ensure America has enough workers to fill jobs....
Companies have not yet fully realized the advantages of AI-powered manufacturing systems. Defining the roadblocks will create opportunities to overcome them, says a new report....
U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu serves as the Department of Defense's chief technology officer. In a recent talk at MIT, she spoke about the DoD's initiatives to build a stronger U.S. manufacturing base and to tackle the country's 'toughest challenges.' President Biden nominated Shyu as under secretary in April 2021, and three months later she stepped into the role. She is responsible for supporting research, development, and prototyping across the DoD. In her talk, which was part of the Manufacturing@MIT Distinguished Speaker Series, she touched on many areas, including funding startups 'so good ideas don't languish,' training a manufacturing workforce, strengthening U.S. supply chains, preparing for climate change, preventing intellectual property theft, supporting 'leap-ahead' technologies, and rebuilding America's semiconductor industry. She described the recently announced DoD Office of Strategic Capital (OSC), which will provide capital to help innovative companies go from promising prototypes to scaled production, and will team with DoD agencies and the private sector. Through this approach, she said OSC will seek to prevent promising prototypes from ending up in a 'Valley of Death' that lies between innovation and bringing new products to market. She explained that the DoD wants to do more to help young companies jump-start their operations. 'The government needs to embrace strategic public investment as a key tool to achieving our full economic potential,' she said....
