News

NEXTFLEX: Scaling Workforce Readiness Through Manufacturing Expertise

The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected US employment, with a significant impact on the manufacturing sector. According to Deloitte’s recent “2021 manufacturing outlook,” US manufacturing faces a long recovery to match its post-2008 recession momentum. And, as we recover, manufacturing may never look the same, with companies adapting to hybrid work environments and expecting more agility from the workforce.

Leominster’s AIS Celebrates National Manufacturing Month

LEOMINSTER — Massachusetts-based AIS, the largest manufacturer of commercial office furniture and seating in New England — a historic area where factories and mills ushered in the American Industrial Revolution some 200 years ago — celebrated national Manufacturing Month during October by honoring the region’s manufacturing legacy and championing modern practices and opportunities.

Amazon Opens New Robotics Manufacturing Facility in Massachusetts

Amazon announced the opening of a new first-of-its-kind robotics manufacturing facility in Westborough, Massachusetts. The new facility will expand Amazon Robotics manufacturing capability in the U.S. and Amazon’s growth in the region—and has created over 200 new manufacturing jobs in Massachusetts.

Making Health and Motion Sensing Devices More Personal

Scientists from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Massachusetts General Hospital’s (MGH) Center for Artificial Intelligence (CPAI) created a toolkit for designing health- and motion-sensing devices using something called “electrical impedance tomography (EIT),” a fancy word for an imaging technique that measures and visualizes a person’s internal conductivity. (EIT is typically used for things like observing lung function or detecting cancer.)

Landmark Bio, a Biomanufacturing Facility Co-founded by MIT, Breaks Ground in Watertown Arsenal

On July 29, MIT Provost Martin A. Schmidt and Associate Provost Krystyn Van Vliet attended a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the construction of Landmark Bio, a new 40,000-square-foot biopharma manufacturing facility at The Arsenal on the Charles in Watertown, Massachusetts. Jongyoon Han, MIT professor of electrical engineering and biological engineering, and Richard D. Braatz, the Edwin R. Gilliland Professor, faculty research officer, and professor of chemical engineering at MIT also attended the event.

Massachusetts Patents, from the Razor to the Roomba

The state has so many inventions, in fact, that one of its best creations — basketball, thought up in Springfield by James Naismith — doesn’t even include a patent for a hoop or basketball that are central to the sport.

In the News: MIT Expert Cites Commonwealth's M2I2 Manufacturing Program in the Boston Globe

An interview with MIT Professor Suzanne Berger in the Globe's ‘Ideas’ section highlights investments from the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative and impies the program could be a national model.

Massachusetts Announces New Manufacturing Grants

WESTBOROUGH — The Center for Advanced Manufacturing at MassTech (CAM), in partnership with the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, has launched a new $2 million grant program that will invest in small- to medium-sized manufacturers across the Commonwealth. The new Massachusetts Manufacturing Accelerate Program (MMAP) aims to co-invest in small- to medium-sized manufacturers to better prepare their businesses to meet the demands of ‘Industry 4.0,’ the innovation-driven production methods powered by smart technologies such as data analytics, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, automation, and connected technologies to stay competitive.

Massachusetts Partners Win $3.3M Grant to Fuel Response to Post-Pandemic Challenges

UMass Lowell announced a $3.3 million federal grant to help face the ongoing manufacturing challenges from COVID-19 and to prepare our supply chains for future public health crises.

Fiber is the New Computing Platform

Video interview with Sasha Stolyarov, CEO of Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) headquartered in Cambridge, Mass.