February 26, 2016 - View this as a web page - View eblast from February 19, 2016

NIST MEP Event Reminders

• State Competition (3) Informational Webinar: MEP is holding a webinar on March 4, 2016 at 1:00 PM EST, for participants interested in learning more about the State Competition. To rsvp, please provide your name and organization to Diane Henderson at mepffo@nist.gov. Full details about the competition and past information webinar recordings 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
• Registration ends March 9th. 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. Some of the topics we will be discussing are: Center Marketing Structure, National and Center Branding, Client Development, Content Marketing, and Best Practices in Digital Marketing. RSVP and view event link. Please note that we no longer intend to hold a face to face Marketing Working Group Meeting in May. However, that May meeting will now be a System Update meeting. If folks are debating whether to attend in May versus March we encourage you to join the March meeting.

Federal Funding Opportunity to Embed MEP Staff in NNMI Institutes

NIST MEP intends to release a Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) within the next month that will fund a series of Pilot Projects to embed MEP Center staff into NNMI Institutes. The purpose of the FFO is to enhance the scale of Institute impacts and benefits for small U.S. manufacturers. This FFO will be open to established and operating Institutes as proposal leads, and awards will require Institute partnerships with Centers to fund the embedding of Center personnel in the participating Institutes. This embedding concept will involve personnel exchanges in which Center staff will work at Institutes for up to 2 years to deepen and broaden collaborations among Institutes and our Centers. It is anticipated that Center – Institute partnerships through this FFO will occur at local, regional, and national levels.

There will be an informational webinar on March 9, 2016, with representatives from NIST MEP and the NIST Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (AMNPO). Topics to be addressed include the purpose, potential collaborations, possible benefits to centers, and administrative considerations for interested centers.

Webinar Details: 1:00 - 2:00 PM EST | Webinar Link | Password: NNMIffo#16!!

For any questions contact Mark Troppe.

Penn State University advanced manufacturing funding opportunity

Partnering with America Makes and MEP, Penn State’s Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition (CIMP-3D) is sending an open invitation to SMEs to present ideas for how Additive Manufacturing can revolutionize their business. The challenge will be focused on concepts that utilize additive manufacturing for improving a current product or developing a new product. Although the Challenge will focus on additive manufacturing of metals, applications involving polymer printing will also be considered depending upon the impact of improving or developing a product through additive manufacturing. The top five submissions will be awarded stipends and access to Penn State and America Makes’ world class facilities and research personnel in order to validate, demonstrate, and showcase their ideas.

*The proposal should include the regional NIST MEP as an integral member of the proposal team. Concepts due March 27, 2016. For more information click here. To hear the recording from a past informational webinar click here.

MEP Technology Activities

Cybersecurity for Small Businesses Webinar

The consequences of a data breach can be disastrous for a small business. The good news is there are steps businesses can take to protect data. Using information from the Federal Trade Commission’s Start with Security guide and NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework, this “train the trainer” webinar will lay out key steps to effective data security for small businesses. A Q&A session will follow.

Wednesday March 2, 2016 at 2:00 PM EST | Registration Link

CMTC Tech Scouting Opportunity

CMTC in California is looking for automobile, bus and other transportation related manufacturers as part of a Tech Scouting project to provide recommendations to the Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology initiative. LCAAT is looking to capitalize on standardization from other transportation industries to design and develop attritable aircraft. Center directors and field staff that have clients in transportation are encouraged to call or email Peter Athanas at CMTC for details; 310 984 0662, pathanas@cmtc.com by March 18th.

Building Deliverables for TDMI and Tech Scouting Projects (Tech Scouting and TDMI Community of Practice)

Molly Dix and Mike Osbourne from RTI International will be discussing how to build deliverables to ensure that investments in projects brings value. The session will focus on ways to communicate findings from TDMI and Tech Scouting projects that results in a deliverable that is efficient and impactful. Please come with your own questions, experiences, and ideas to enhance the discussion.

Thursday March 10, 2016 at 2:00 PM EST | Registration Link

Technology Scouting and TDMI Workshop in Central New York on March 15-17th. Learn More

MEP in the News

• MassMEP partners with UMass Lowell to expand advanced CNC training in Massachusetts. Read More.
• On February 23rd in Bethlehem, PA, 800 attendees were at the “What’s so Cool about Manufacturing” Student Video Contest hosted by MRC and Dream it Do it PA. The excitement and community spirit was intensive. As one student said: "What’s so cool about Manufacturing? -- Everything!!"
• Video of the Week: Sarah Daly is the February Face of Manufacturing. Meet Sarah Daly, whose passion for her work and respect for her co-workers catapulted her to the position of Plant Manager just 8 years into her career. She leads a team of 70 people at the FiberVisions Covington plant with humility, humor, and a genuine desire to make a difference. Read her story and watch her video.

Vacancies Around the MEP System

• CMTC is seeking the following positions: Client Advisors, Advanced Manufacturing Practice Lead and Smart Manufacturing Practice Lead. Learn More
• Purdue MEP is seeking for an Associate Director of Client Services and a Northern Indiana Lead Industry Advisor.
• 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