fbpx

Institute for Advanced Learning and Research

Driving Economic Transformation

The U.S. Navy Opens Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Danville

Categories

The U.S. Navy Opens Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Danville

The U.S. Navy Opens Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Danville

Joint Navy-OSD Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing Program to Benefit from new Multi-Million-Dollar Training Facility

The U.S. Navy is launching its Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE) within the State of Virginia’s Center for Manufacturing Advancement (CMA) on the Danville Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) campus. The creation of the AM CoE marks the first project partnership for the CMA. It demonstrates the Navy’s commitment to investing in and delivering the skilled workforce necessary to strengthen and expand the Navy’s industrial base to achieve the Nation’s strategic defense objectives.

A first for the Navy, the AM CoE will provide a platform for training a skilled additive manufacturing workforce through partnership with the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program, a rigorous, focused 24/5 training schedule that graduates student cohorts every four months in multiple disciplines critical to the defense industrial base (DIB). Industrial manufacturing partners include major shipbuilders like General Dynamics Electric Boat, Huntington-Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding, Austal USA as well as key industry experts like Phillips Corporation, Industrial Inspection and Analysis, FasTech, Mitutoyo, and Master Gage & Tool, to bring multiple processes utilized by the DIB under one roof to improve efficiencies and reduce barriers to entry for manufacturers hoping to enter additive manufacturing.

Utilizing three full bays dedicated to accelerating and scaling additive manufacturing parts and qualification processes, the AM CoE’s principal functions will be to:

  • Promote adoption of mature industrial qualification processes and data to earn technical warrant holder approval for additive manufacturing production;
  • Enable scale and speed to address material readiness challenges and critical fragilities in the castings/forgings market space;
  • Pave a path for sustainable and scalable additive manufacturing production capability in the submarine industrial base.

“Building and sustaining the Navy’s defense industrial base workforce has become a national security imperative, and the demonstration of partnership and collaboration that is represented here in Danville, Virginia today is part of the ‘Whole Government, Whole of Industry’ approach that must be in place to ensure the domestic manufacturing capacity that is required to maintain the Navy’s maritime edge, and surge to meet a dynamic threat environment,” said Matt Sermon, Executive Director, PEO Strategic Submarines.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the AM CoE was held during the second annual ATDM Summit where the U.S. Navy, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and additional federal, state and local government officials joined with partners from defense industry and academia to convene topics pertaining to closing skills and workforce gaps within the naval defense industrial base.

During the ceremony, the announcement was also made that the ATDM program, which aims to provide 800-1,000 qualified candidates to fill critical vacancies in the DIB annually by 2024, will expand with the creation of a regional training facility adjacent to the CMA. The multimillion-dollar investment into over 100,000 square feet of dedicated training capability, capacity, and infrastructure will enable ATDM to rapidly scale up to its full potential and add to the economic momentum in Southern Virginia. The Danville and Pittsylvania County Regional Industrial Facility Authority provided land for the initiative.

“The launch of the AM CoE and the announcement of scale-up potential for ATDM go hand-in-hand with IALR’s approach to support the technological and workforce development needs of Industry. We are excited to leverage our new Center for Manufacturing Advancement and work with the Navy and other partners,” said Telly Tucker, President, IALR. “ATDM is one of the strongest examples of what full integration of industry in the training process looks like, by bringing key partners together to be vested in the time-to-talent process and ensuring the unique requirements of shipbuilders and suppliers are achieved quickly to meet the demands of our nation’s defenses.”

“The events we celebrate today – centered on workforce, technology, and the space where those two priorities must meet – are game changing. The scale and urgency needed in these areas is a fundamental differentiator in our Navy’s ability to preserve peace, and when necessary, compete and win,” added RADM Scott Pappano, PEO Strategic Submarines.” 

Congressional Leaders Continue Support of ATDM

Congressional Leaders Continue Support of ATDM

With continuing support of congressional leaders, the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program remains in step with growth goals. ATDM members updated Congressman Bob Good and Senator Mark Warner on the 16-week program that trains adults in CNC machining, quality control inspection, welding and additive manufacturing.

Good and Warner have been instrumental in the ATDM program’s funding and have visited the training facilities. They learned of current successes, as well as the scale-up plan to train 800-1,000 students a year within five years.

The visit also introduced IALR’s new president, Telly Tucker. IALR has served as team lead with Advanced Manufacturing Director Troy Simpson. Norb Ryan Jr., of The SPECTRUM Group, joined the visit as well. SPECTRUM serves as government relations expert on the ATDM team. Other team members include Danville Community College, instructional provider, and Phillips Corporation, technology provider. Visit atdm.org to learn more.

Congressman Bob Good, IALR President Telly Tucker, IALR’s Troy Simpson and The SPECTRUM Group’s Norb Ryan discuss continued support for the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) Program.

Tucker and Simpson thank Senator Mark Warner for his support of ATDM as it plans to scale up and train 800-1,000 students annually within five years.

IALR Announces New President

IALR Announces New President

Telly Tucker

The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) announced today that Telly Tucker will lead the organization as its new President, effective May 31, 2022. Tucker will provide high-level, strategic leadership as IALR continues its mission to catalyze regional economic transformation.

“On behalf of the search committee and the board of trustees, I want to share our excitement with the selection of Telly Tucker as the first President of IALR,” said Roy Ford Jr., D. Min., chair of the IALR board of trustees. “We have full confidence in Telly’s ability to successfully steer IALR to help realize Southern Virginia as home to a dynamic economy where all can live and thrive. His collaborative approach and strategic insight, combined with his significant experience and deep knowledge of our region, positions him as a perfect champion of our vision for the next chapter of IALR.”

Tucker formerly served as the Director of Economic Development for the City of Danville before his most recent post as the Director of Arlington Economic Development for Arlington County, Va. There he led an economic development team of more than 50 employees as the staff built on the momentum of Amazon HQ2 to attract more businesses, grow existing business, and support the tourism sector and the arts community.

“I am honored to have been selected as the first President of IALR,” said Tucker. “The opportunity to lead a premier institution engaged in meaningful and impactful economic development, applied research, advanced learning, conference services and advanced manufacturing is truly a privilege. I’m very much looking forward to this challenge and opportunity to work collaboratively in support of the larger mission of economic transformation within Southern Virginia.”

Tucker’s career in economic development, education and leadership spans 18 years in Virginia at both the state and local levels. In addition to his leadership in the City of Danville and Arlington County, his experience includes serving as Assistant Director of Economic Development for James City County, Program Administrator for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, Economic Development Specialist for the City of Lynchburg, and Secondary Education Teacher for Lynchburg City Schools. 

An avid supporter of community engagement, Tucker has held board appointments with the Leadership Center for Excellence Board of Regents, George Mason University President’s Innovation Advisory Council, Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance (Immediate Past Chair), Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, and Path Forward Advisory Council, and has served as an Honorary Board Member of the Northern Virginia Technology Council.

Tucker has received the prestigious Certified Economic Development (CEcD) designation granted by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) in Washington, D.C., and has served on IEDC’s Racism and Economic Development Committee. He is a Lynchburg native and obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration in international business and Spanish from James Madison University.

IALR’s seven-member search committee worked with Korn Ferry in Washington, D.C., to conduct a national search to fill the new President position. The team narrowed the highly qualified pool of applicants to five candidates for a round of interviews before selecting Tucker.

The new President position was created after a seven-month strategic planning process indicated the need for expanded executive leadership due to extensive growth in IALR’s activity level, as well as strategic succession planning.

The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research serves Virginia as a regional catalyst for economic transformation with applied research, advanced learning, economic development, advanced manufacturing and conference services. IALR’s major footprint focuses within Southern Virginia, including the counties of Patrick, Henry, Franklin, Pittsylvania, Halifax and Mecklenburg along with the cities of Martinsville and Danville. For more information, visit www.ialr.org.