ASTRO America Hosts Stakeholder Meetings for Guam Additive Materials & Manufacturing Accelerator (GAMMA) Project
On-Island Meeting Provides Updates on AM Production Facility and Workforce Training Initiative
October 17, 2024 – Tumon, Guam — The Applied Science and Technology Research Organization (ASTRO) of America hosted an on-island working meeting to further hone its proposed approach to a so-called Guam Additive Materials & Manufacturing Accelerator (GAMMA). This public-private partnership of key academic institutions, the Guam government, and U.S. Navy will create a new advanced manufacturing education and technology center and new high-skill job opportunities on-island.
GAMMA aims to both promote U.S. national security and put in place resources that will help grow a high-tech industry in Guam over the long term. Given the broad stakeholder interest in this effort, the full-day workshop brought together leaders in higher education, economic development, and business, as well as key U.S. military stakeholders to discuss GAMMA’s planned design, operation, and mission.
Melanie Mendiola, CEO and Administrator of the Guam Economic Development Authority, delivered the keynote address on the significance of an industrial 3D printing capability on Guam that will position the island as a manufacturing and training hub for a growing U.S. shipbuilding supplier base in the region.
In July, ASTRO America delivered an implementation plan to build the on-island center that will feature workforce development and education; component testing and evaluation; and manufacturing business incubation and support. As has been detailed previously, the center is expected to be fully running in three years with a satellite campus of a leading mainland U.S. engineering university operating on Guam and helping confer relevant degrees and certificates to students in concert with other on-island institutions.
“Guam remains one of our nation’s foremost locations for U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific. GAMMA aims to enhance their access to parts and supplies that may otherwise be difficult to source quickly in a remote area,” shared ASTRO President Neal Orringer. “Through this initiative, we are putting in place advanced technology and a strong talent pipeline that will deliver on-demand part production at our forces’ point-of-need.”
As part of GAMMA’s workforce training component, five residents of Guam are among the Island’s first student cohort currently enrolled in the U.S. Navy’s 16-week advanced manufacturing program at the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing facility in Virginia. These students joined a portion of the working meeting via video conference and shared their experience with the training course. “To learn applications of the latest production technology and cutting-edge equipment here in the U.S. is amazing. My hope is to apply these new skills and help Guam transform its additive manufacturing capabilities,” said Rickie Jemiah Casupanan, a graduate of Guam Community College. Following this coursework, the students will be immersed in a university research environment for an additional two weeks to learn about additive manufacturing and industrial part inspection laboratories in the United States.
While in Guam, ASTRO America’s GAMMA team visited several officials from the U.S. Government, University of Guam, Guam Community College, and Guam Economic Development Authority. Overall progress was made in identifying potential facility locations and infrastructure needs as well as crucial next steps for curriculum development and organizational agreements.
More information on the Guam Accelerator Project can be found here.
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About ASTRO America
The Applied Science and Technology Research Organization of America (ASTRO America) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, non-partisan Research Institute and Think Tank. It was established in 2018 to advance the public interest through manufacturing technology and policy. Led by manufacturing professionals with broad public and private sector experience, ASTRO America supports collaborations by government agencies and companies to address supply chain challenges in highly regulated industries, including aerospace and defense.
Find out more: https://www.astroa.org/