This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) program related manufacturing roundtable/workshop will help to better establish useful connections between the National Science Foundation (NSF) SBIR/STTR companies and U.S. manufacturers. This is the first in a series of roundtables hosted in regions that have identified clusters in the specific areas of focus in the SBIR/STTR portfolio. The unique design of the roundtable will allow growth manufacturers to learn about the cutting-edge technologies coming from SBIR/STTR companies while simultaneously offering SBIR/STTR companies the opportunity to learn specific technology challenges faced by manufacturers in their industrial space. The NSF SBIR/STTR program is designed to invest in promising ideas and technologies that have breakthrough potential. With specific grants in several cutting-edge manufacturing sectors like nano-manufacturing, solid state lighting, and robotics, NSF is supporting the growth of technologies that could significantly enhance the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers.
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be to ensure that the breakthrough technologies developed under the NSF SBIR/STTR program will help support innovation in U.S. manufacturing. This has the potential to create a continuous pipeline of useful technologies from universities and startups, through this NSF SBIR/STTR program, that can be incorporated into the U.S. manufacturing sector, improving our innovation edge and allowing this country to remain the world?s foremost manufacturer. The manufacturing sector is a critical component of the U.S. economy. Its value-added processes create significant wealth for the United States and enable the industry to compensate its employees at a greater rate than the average industry. Over the course of the last decade though, the U.S. manufacturing industry has experienced a significant transformation as the production of lower-value and labor-intensive goods has disappeared as a result of lower cost, foreign competition. This transformation has left the U.S. manufacturing sector concentrated in higher value-added sectors. To maintain our competitive advantage in these sectors, U.S. manufacturers must continually innovate through the application of technology to improve manufacturing processes and create new products and product features.
