Penn State Offers Companies High-Tech Expertise, Training and Research Partnerships
Learn how Penn State University's presence in the I-99 Corridor gives companies access to cutting-edge expertise, including hands-on training in technologies that are revolutionizing manufacturing.
Penn State University’s presence in the I-99 Corridor allows companies to utilize the university’s vast research and development capabilities to develop new products and processes.
Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory is known for its work in defense science, systems engineering and technologies, focusing on naval missions as one of four Navy-affiliated research centers nationwide. The university’s Materials Research Institute harnesses the knowledge of five colleges and 15 departments to apply research to electronic devices, functional polymers and nanoscience – fields shaping industries from defense to biotech.
Companies can explore technology revolutionizing manufacturing at the Center for Innovative Materials Processing Through Digital Deposition (CIMP-3D), which works with government, industry and academic partners to advance additive manufacturing, also known as 3-D printing. The technology, which involves using 3-D models to build items by adding layers, has the potential to produce more flexible, efficient parts for defense, aerospace, automotive and energy manufacturers as well as medical device makers.
CIMP-3D draws heavily on Penn State’s expertise in laser engineering and processing, along with its research in materials science and 3-D modeling and printing with metals. An Additive Manufacturing Demonstration Facility for the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Open Manufacturing Program, the center invites businesses to tour the 8,000-square-foot facility that houses different 3-D printers as well as a design studio and prototyping lab.
“We are helping companies understand what can and can’t be done with additive manufacturing and separating the hype from the reality,” says Tim Simpson, co-director of CIMP-3D.
CIMP-3D also offers industry training workshops and on-site training for manufacturers, as well as opportunities for businesses to participate in small-scale research projects. Companies that fund research with Penn State have the added bonus of keeping all rights to their intellectual property.
“We are the only university in the country right now offering that,” Simpson says.