Veliadis Visits White House for First Leadership Summit with Manufacturing USA Innovation Institute Network Directors

PowerAmerica Executive Director Victor Veliadis spoke on a panel at the White House, on Oct. 24, as one of 16 directors of the nation’s Manufacturing USA Innovation Institutes. It was the first time a leadership summit had been held with all 16 directors convened at the White House since the Manufacturing USA network was founded in 2012.

“Manufacturing is key to both our economic prosperity and national security,” Veliadis says. “It was an honor to highlight how PowerAmerica is spearheading efforts to create public-private collaborations that synergistically overcome technological challenges — and accelerate the commercialization of energy-efficient silicon-carbide and gallium-nitride power semiconductor chip technologies.”

The leadership summit was led by Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council (NEC), along with the deputy director of the NEC and the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. Deputy and under secretaries from the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, USDA and representatives from six other federal agencies were also in attendance.

The Manufacturing USA network helps facilitate U.S. leadership in advanced manufacturing and build a strong workforce. Through public-private partnerships, these 16 institutes work on a range of cutting-edge technologies, such as advanced semiconductor chips, robotics, additive manufacturing and biomanufacturing. Each of the institutes in the network is sponsored by the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense or the Department of Energy.

PowerAmerica, backed by the DOE and headquartered on NC State’s Centennial Campus, is a member-driven consortium of industry, universities and national labs that focuses on silicon-carbide and gallium-nitride semiconductor chips and their applications. These next-generation energy-efficient chips can be used to power trains and other large vehicles, manufacturing plants — and even entire electric grids.

To learn more about the leadership summit, read this White House briefing room statement.

Editor’s note: This news article was originally published by the Office of Research and Innovation and is reprinted here with permission.