Chris Wetteland, senior lecturer in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, traveled around the southeast this summer presenting advanced manufacturing capabilities through the Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program via the Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing.

Wetteland visited Clark-Atlanta University, a historically black university in Atlanta, Southern University at New Orleans, and North Carolina A&T State University in Charlotte.

“We have curriculum which grew from our lab courses that we have modified to teach at the middle and high school level,” he said. “It includes basic 3D printer operation, how to make 3D printer filament, and how strong 3D printed parts can be.”

The program seeks to create partnerships between minority institutions and national labs through summer programs, internships, joint research projects, course development, and other efforts in order to increase the number of minorities in STEM positions at the labs.

The consortium focuses on research, internships, and other programs that are geared toward additive manufacturing opportunities.