February 5, 2019
Thank you to all the IACMI members who attended and participated in the Winter 2019 Members Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana last week. We appreciate your time and your enthusiasm for sharing the innovations IACMI members are fostering in the composites ecosystem. This event would not be possible without the support of meeting sponsors, including the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and Purdue University.
With some of the coldest weather Indiana has seen in over two decades, more than 270 IACMI members gathered in Indianapolis to discuss technical project results, workforce development programs, and other recent member successes. The audience represented 137 organizations and 33 states, with presentations from over 35 speakers. Day one of the conference began with insight from Aaron Vigil-Martinez and Elaine Bedel from IEDC with a key message to members, “innovation does not happen in isolation”. John Hopkins followed with a state of the institute presentation highlighting next steps and the future vision of IACMI, leading in to a presentation by Tom Dobbins, ACMA President, on the global vision for advanced composites.
IACMI is continuing to serve this community by connecting innovation assets positioned for significant growth. IACMI is now leading over 50 technical projects, 12 of which were highlighted in the technical tracks at the meeting with presentations led by Vartega, N12 Technologies, Michelman, ACMA, Arkema, and other industry partners. In addition to the project presentations, Uday Vaidya, IACMI CTO, led a roadmapping session to show how each of the technical projects are aligned with Institute goals.
IACMI members were invited to join a special event on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the opening of the Manufacturing Design Laboratory at Purdue University, a new research space within the Indiana Manufacturing Institute (IMI). The IMI is home to IACMI’s design, modeling, and simulation technology area, and has housed multiple classes of IACMI and Dassault Systèmes sponsored interns.
Following the ribbon cutting, members attended a networking reception with regional leaders and industry partners from a variety of market sectors at the Dallara IndyCar Factory. Guests had the opportunity to participate in guided tours of the factory and take rides in full indycar racing simulators.
Please take a moment to help us exceed expectations at the next Members Meeting by taking our survey on the IACMI app and submitting your cost share forms. Approved presentations and event photos will be posted on our website and member portal within the next few weeks. We look forward to seeing you again for our next Members Meeting in Denver, Colorado July 23 – 25,2019 and thank you again for being a valued IACMI member.