The University of Texas at Arlington will co-host the National Defense Industrial Association's (NDIA) inaugural Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base Symposium Center on March 30.
Co-hosted by UTA, the NDIA and UTA's Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC), the symposium will bring together key stakeholders in defense manufacturing from across all levels of government to view the manufacturing ecosystem from multiple perspectives. By the end of the symposium, participants will leave with ideas to remake America's manufacturing base into a hyper-connected, secure and resilient ecosystem of domestic suppliers, said Lynn Tomaszewski, NDIA Lone Star chapter president.
"The recent pandemic has indicated an unanticipated fragility in our nation's manufacturing supply chain," Tomaszewski said. "To shore up American manufacturing, our nation's defense industrial base needs reinforcement from a spectrum of policy, laws, universities, trades and infrastructure. The symposium will be a catalyst for the conversations that could produce those changes."
The event will be held in the Bluebonnet Ballroom of the E.H. Hereford University Center on UTA's campus, with a reception to follow. Pravina Raghavan, director of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, is the featured speaker in the opening session. Raghavan has more than 20 years of experience providing advisory services to businesses in the startup, growth, expansion and maturity phases of development.
The day's schedule is available on the NDIA Lone Star chapter website. UTA community members are encouraged to register at the member rate. Other symposium presenters include:
- Teik C. Lim, UTA interim president
- Rodney Reddic, interim executive director for TMAC
- Retired Adm. Patrick Walsh, former commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet
- Steve Gray, director, 448th Supply Chain Management Wing
- Retired Col. Ross Guieb, executive director, Bush Combat Development Complex at Texas A&M University
Over the past five years, UTA has received more than $15 million in funding from the Department of Defense. The University's defense-related research includes advanced materials, hypersonics, medical science and power systems involving faculty and students from the College of Engineering, College of Science and College of Nursing and Health Innovation, as well as the UT Arlington Research Institute.
"UTA plays a pivotal role to support the defense industry with its diverse, workforce-ready student population, veteran-focused programs and the strength of its faculty to conduct innovative research," said Jeremy Forsberg, assistant vice president for research at UTA. "UTA and academia play an important part in national security, and this forum will help bring solutions to urgent national challenges."
