February 19, 2016 - View this as a web page - View eblast from February 12, 2016

NIST MEP Event Reminders

• State Competition (3) Informational Webinar: For participants interested in learning more about the State Competition, MEP will hold two webinars on February 23, 2016 at 3:00 PM EST and March 4, 2016 at 1:00 PM EST. To rsvp, please provide your name and organization to Diane Henderson at mepffo@nist.gov. Full details about the competition can be found on the MEP competition website.
• MEP Center Board and Advisory Board Meeting (03.01.16) This meeting will help promote communication and distinctive practice sharing between the Center Boards as well as initiate dialogue with the National MEP Advisory Board. View event Link
• UPDATE! Marketing Working Group Meeting (03.17.16) This meeting, hosted by TMAC, will bring marketing and communication professionals from across the MEP System together in one place to network, share best practices, and discuss solutions for current and emerging challenges. James Soto, President and CEO of Industrial Strength Marketing will be our guest speaker for the meeting. This is the first face to face meeting of the year. Some of the topics we will be discussing are: Center Marketing Structure, National Branding, Client Development, Content Marketing, and Best Practices in Digital Marketing. RSVP and view event link.

National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) Institute Awards

Today, NIST released a Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) to establish and operate one or more National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) Institutes. The institutes serve as regional hubs for advanced manufacturing and provide shared facilities to all members. The goal is to help industry reduce the risks and costs of production scale-up and commercialization so that companies of all sizes can adopt new technologies, accelerate technology transfer to the marketplace and facilitate innovation across supply chains. Institutes also serve as workforce development resources, working in partnership with local high schools, community colleges and universities

This competition is a two-stage process, comprised of a pre-application followed by a full application for those invited to continue. As an open-topic competition, NIST will accept applications for a proposed Institute in any area of advanced manufacturing so long as it is not duplicative. That means that the application does not duplicate the technical scope and programs of federally funded Institutes within the NNMI, or technical focus area(s) that are identified within any in-progress Institute funding opportunity announced by a federal agency.

The solicitation is open to U.S.-owned entities organized and operated in the United States and its territories. Pre-applications are due April 20, 2016. Following review, selected applicants will be invited to submit full proposals. For more information, click here.

MEIS Community Migration

Last year, MEP announced that the Communities of Practice residing in MEIS will be migrated to MEP Connect. In the next coming weeks, as part of the process to migrate several communities, groups that are migrated will no longer be accessible in MEIS. Before this implementation, users will receive a message that directs them to the new location within MEP Connect. Any community that will not be migrated and/or is no longer active, will display a message with a contact email for the community’s administrator. Questions can be directed to Nicole Ausherman or 301-975-8035.

Background: MEP Connect was launched in 2014 as an internal web-based collaboration tool to optimize communication and collaboration across the network. MEIS is MEP’s information system that helps centers with online data collection and processing. This web-based database allows centers to view and print a variety of reports, as well as research companies and industries.

MEP Connect and MEIS are different websites, however they are both accessed by using your MEIS username and password.

MEP in the News

• MANTEC wants to help manufacturers reap benefits of York-area gigabit installation. Read More.
• Nebraska MEP helps agricultural producers, small businesses by conducting audits needed for USDA energy programs. Read More.
• What's so cool about manufacturing video contest. Thirty student teams representing five counties and sixteen Lehigh Valley school districts have each partnered with a local manufacturer to videotape and edit their own answer to the question “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” and they are ready to showcase their work! Who's your favorite? Vote now and share.
• Advanced Manufacturing through Public/Private Collaboration. Mike Molnar, NIST Director of Advanced Manufacturing describes what's being done to maintain U.S. leadership in this arena and mentions MEP. Read More.
• Montana's Manufacturing Extension Center offers training to help Montana manufacturers better deliver products and services to their customers. Read More.
• Techsolve's Product Manager, Ron Pieper was featured in Modern Machine Shop magazine's February edition. His article "How to Boost OEE with Automated Machine Tool Monitoring", highlights five major steps to implementing shop floor monitoring. Read More.
• Video of the Week: CIRAS officially cuts the ribbon on its new metal 3-D printer. The new machine will educate Iowa businesses on the benefits of metal additive manufacturing. Since it arrived on the Iowa State campus, it has been used to help with more than a dozen company projects over the past several months.

Photo of the Week: Northwest Industrial Resource Center hosted Cybersecurity 101 for Manufacturing, featuring 4 panelists presenting on their expertise to help manufacturers prevent, protect, and respond to potential incidents.

Vacancies Around the MEP System

• Delaware MEP is seeking two Specialists: MEP Specialist II and MEP Specialist I. Closes April 1.
• Impact Washington is seeking an Account Executive in Eastern Washington. Learn More
• Georgia Tech (GaMEP) is seeking two Project Managers: Lean Project Manager and Quality Project Manager