The Industrial Science Report: Building the manufacturing workforce behind national security
Key Highlights
- Workforce development in critical industries is crucial for safeguarding supply chains, infrastructure, and economic stability amid technological complexities.
- Strategic investments in aerospace, defense, and nuclear energy R&D foster innovation, job creation, and international collaboration.
- Academic partnerships enhance research, education, and real-world application across critical infrastructure sectors.
- Manufacturing technologies like the CF3D composite system are advancing materials science research in aerospace and defense industries.
- Strengthening cybersecurity fluency among maintenance professionals is vital for infrastructure resilience and operational reliability.
National security is not only defined by military strength, it is increasingly also dependent on an industrial workforce to design, build, operate, and protect complex systems at scale. From cyber-infrastructure and nuclear energy to aerospace materials and global manufacturing ecosystems, the reliability of critical technologies hinges on the depth and adaptability of the talent behind them.
The Industrial Science Report this week highlights universities, government agencies, and industry partners that are focused on closing the skills gaps in these critical industries. Workforce development in the U.S. can become a strategic lever for safeguarding supply chains, hardening infrastructure, and sustaining economic stability in an era where technical failure can quickly become a national vulnerability.
ICIT and West Virginia University partner to strengthen critical infrastructure cybersecurity and workforce resilience
Cybersecurity risk is a growing failure point for manufacturing operations, and attackers can thrive in the growing disconnect between information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT). This new partnership between the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology and West Virginia University takes aim at cyber blind spots that increasingly threaten critical infrastructure. As cyber risk becomes a reliability issue, tomorrow’s maintenance and reliability professionals will need cybersecurity fluency alongside traditional mechanical and electrical skills.
The Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT) and West Virginia University (WVU) announced a formal academic partnership to advance research, education, and real-world impact across critical infrastructure sectors, including energy, water/wastewater, transportation, and telecommunications. The collaboration combines ICIT’s policy expertise with WVU’s dual National Security Agency (NSA)/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS)-designated National Center of Academic Excellence status and academic capabilities in cybersecurity and applied resilience. The partnership will enable cross-sector applied research, joint proposals, and the development of educational programs to cultivate future infrastructure defense and resilience leaders. By engaging government, industry, and academic stakeholders, the initiative aims to better reflect real-world operational complexity in its research and policy recommendations.
Ohio Federal Research Network awards $10.198 M for defense and aerospace R&D projects
Defense and aerospace manufacturing leaves no room for fragile processes or short-term thinking. OFRN’s latest investment targets hypersonics, advanced materials, autonomy, and aerospace power systems, and these advanced technologies push manufacturing precision, reliability, and lifecycle performance to the limit. The research pipeline foreshadows the materials, such as ultra-heat-resistant ceramics, aerospace-grade high-voltage cable systems, and spaceborne infrared detectors, and their asset behaviors that will soon show up on production floors well beyond defense industries.
The Ohio Federal Research Network (OFRN) announced $10.198 million in funding for seven new collaborative research and development projects under Round 7, financed through the Ohio Department of Higher Education and included in the Governor’s budget. The seven projects will support technology areas such as hypersonics, human performance, aerospace power systems, commercial space, quantum technologies, autonomy, and advanced materials, involving collaborations among seven Ohio research institutions and 11 industry partners. The awards are intended to accelerate defense, aerospace, and advanced technology innovation while strengthening partnerships among Ohio’s universities, research institutions, and industry. It further notes that the selected projects are projected to create 64 new jobs, generate more than $69 million in follow-on funding, and leverage more than $3.5 million in cost share commitments.
Read more from The Industrial Science Report:
Why artificial intelligence is becoming manufacturing infrastructure
Artificial intelligence is pushing manufacturers to rethink systems design, data integrity, and maintenance strategy.
Additive manufacturing races toward factory-floor readiness
Researchers are closing the reliability gap, tackling the physics, materials, robotics, and workflow gaps holding back large-scale industrial adoption.
Microscopic breakthroughs redefining electronics and engineered materials
This Friday roundup explores bio-inspired and digital materials technology, robotic nanofabrication, and tunable metasurfaces.
Purdue University and Incheon City formalize global research and academic collaboration
We’re often focused on workforce development for the U.S., but manufacturing isn’t always local. This Purdue–Incheon collaboration reflects how aerospace, semiconductor, and advanced manufacturing talent pipelines are being built across borders. For manufacturers, this raises the bar for standardization, knowledge transfer, and maintenance and reliability practices that must work consistently across regions.
Purdue University and the Korean city of Incheon signed a memorandum of understanding to promote joint academic programming, faculty, and student exchanges, and collaborative research in fields, including semiconductors, aeronautics, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and quantum computing. The agreement aims to strengthen transnational research partnerships, expand access to shared research infrastructure, and open pathways for Purdue students and faculty to engage in co-located projects in Incheon. The MOU establishes a framework for long-term academic engagement that could enhance global research networks and workforce capabilities in engineering and industrial innovation.
DOE invests more than $5 M in university nuclear energy research and workforce infrastructure
Nuclear energy sets the reliability bar that other industries aim to follow. DOE’s latest investment strengthens hands-on training in environments where documentation, maintenance discipline, and failure prevention are non-negotiable. For maintenance and reliability professionals, the nuclear energy workforce continues to define best practices in asset lifecycle management and condition monitoring that ripple across energy, defense, and advanced manufacturing industries.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy awarded more than $5.3 million to 15 university-led projects to strengthen U.S. nuclear energy research infrastructure and workforce development capabilities. The funding will support upgrades to university reactors, research facilities, and hands-on training capabilities that are essential for advancing nuclear energy technologies and sustaining the next generation of energy engineers and scientists. Recipient institutions range from major research universities to regional nuclear science centers, and the program is managed through the Nuclear Energy University Program. DOE also says this investment supports President Trump's Executive Order: Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base and a U.S. nuclear renaissance.
Auburn University advances composite manufacturing research with CF3D Enterprise Cell Installation
Composite manufacturing is rewriting the rules of inspection, repair, and reliability, especially in industries like aerospace where weight and durability are more important than low cost. Auburn’s CF3D installation gives future engineers hands-on experience with continuous fiber composite structures. For aerospace and defense manufacturers, this signals a growing need for maintenance teams trained to assess composite material health and integrity, as well as traditional metals.
Auburn University expanded its advanced manufacturing research for aerospace, defense and hypersonic systems by installing a CF3D Enterprise 3D composite manufacturing cell from Continuous Composites at its Research and Innovation Campus in Huntsville, Alabama. The CF3D system enables production and prototyping of high-performance continuous fiber composite structures. The installation will enhance Auburn’s applied materials research and offers students and partners direct access to advanced digital composite technologies. Researchers expect the system to advance structural design experimentation, accelerate prototype workflows, and serve as a focal point for collaboration with industry and government stakeholders.
About the Author
Anna Townshend
managing editor
Anna Townshend has been a journalist and editor for almost 20 years. She joined Control Design and Plant Services as managing editor in June 2020. Previously, for more than 10 years, she was the editor of Marina Dock Age and International Dredging Review. In addition to writing and editing thousands of articles in her career, she has been an active speaker on industry panels and presentations, as well as host for the Tool Belt and Control Intelligence podcasts. Email her at [email protected].