The program, called Accelerated Innovative Manufacturing with 3D Printing, or AIM-3DP, will provide small and medium manufacturers in the automotive and aerospace sectors with training, mentorship and UofL-backed research, development and consulting. The work is backed by a new $90,000 grant, one of only three of its kind in the country, from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities.

“The goal is to help these companies take advantage of cutting-edge, future-focused technologies,” said principal investigator Kunal Kate, assistant professor in UofL’s . “My hope is that we can build on the research and innovation we’re doing in advanced manufacturing at UofL and use it to help companies throughout Kentucky.”

AIM-3DP will partner manufacturers with UofL researchers and students, who will work side-by-side to identify better, more efficient ways to manufacture, develop new product lines and grow. The projects can be any size, though AIM-3DP will select two larger projects for more in-depth work and will split costs with the company.

AKA will provide AIM-3DP companies with coaching and training on business development, continuous improvement and leadership. Companies also will receive grant writing training in hopes that projects may lead to Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer applications to fund technology development and innovation.

Companies can apply to be part of the program .

“Our mission at AKA is to assist Kentucky manufacturers and distributors by boosting productivity and growth opportunities so they can retain and create additional jobs, be more globally competitive and produce new revenue streams,” said Scott Broughton, AKA’s center director. “AIM-3DP can help us fulfill that mission, and I’m excited to work with UofL to make that happen.”

The grant to AIM-3DP is funded by a research grant APLU received from the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, a physical sciences laboratory and non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce. The initiative explores how public universities can develop and scale partnerships with Manufacturing Extension Partnership Centers to increase the capacity of small and medium-sized manufacturers to adopt technologies key for their success.

“We know technology adoption is critical for the success and long-term sustainability of small and medium-sized manufacturers,” said Sheila Martin, vice president for economic and community engagement at APLU. “Yet barriers to uptake of new technologies still force too many manufacturers out of business. We’re excited these public universities, MEP Centers, and private sector partners are stepping up to find new models for increased success.”

The AIM-3DP program builds on both partners’ strengths. At UofL, companies will have access to a robust infrastructure for additive manufacturing and materials innovation, including the UofL , known as AMIST, and its well-equipped center for rapid manufacturing.

“Kentucky has a rich manufacturing history to be proud of,” said Will Metcalf, associate vice president for research development and partnerships in UofL’s Office of Research and Innovation. “Through this work with AKA, we will help Kentucky manufactures innovate, adopt cutting edge technologies, and stay competitive.”

Other partnerships receiving AIM-3DP grants are Northern Illinois University/Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center and Ohio University/Ohio Manufacturing Extension Partnership Southeast.

The Braden Institute’s work to preserve Kentucky’s LGBTQ history was done in association with the Fairness Campaign from 2015-2017. The project’s goal was “to produce the nation’s first statewide LGBTQ historic context report and two LBTGQ historic site designations, working with Kentucky’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).”

“Widespread social hostility, including violence, has meant that the cultural contributions of LGBTQ people have long been undervalued or suppressed, resulting in invisibility of this aspect of Kentucky’s heritage,” reads the Braden Institute’s nomination letter. “Recovering those histories is a vital part of acknowledging the dignity of LGBTQ communities in order to create wider validity and acceptance.”

After vigorous research, including five statewide history gatherings or “History Harvests”, the Braden Institute’s report was published by the National Park Service as a part of its initiative to document minority communities. The project director and the report’s lead author was Institute director Catherine Fosl, who is also a Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. According to the nomination, “outcomes included new visibility, advocacy tools, and media coverage for partners; new research skills and publications for students; curricular transformation; two of the nation’s first-ever National Register historic sites with LGBTQ significance; and online public history report.”

About the university-community partnership that forms the basis for this award, Fairness Campaign Director Chris Hartman had this to say: “As we worked hand in hand with the Anne Braden Institute to complete the [project], the Fairness Campaign reconnected with many early leaders of our movement and ignited fresh interest in our work.”

The Institute hopes to expand its research in ways that may include uncovering more histories of LGBTQ Kentuckians of color and working with Kentucky school districts to include more LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum.

Henry Cunningham, UofL’s director of Community Engagement, said the university has submitted nominations for the W. Kellogg Awards and the C. Peter Magrath Award before, but has never gotten this far.

“The W. Kellogg Awards and the C. Peter Magrath Award were developed to provide national recognition for the outstanding community-university engagement work of public universities,” Cunningham said. “The purpose is to recognize the contribution universities are making to the community through joint collaboration with community partners using engaged scholarship, like teaching and research. Colleges and universities are recognized for redesigning their teaching/learning and research mission to increase the involvement of community partners.”

Applicants must demonstrate how scholarship bettered their communities, be it by teaching, research, or service. “The [application] exemplifies the role of the Office of Community Engagement working with faculty across the university to connect teaching and research to community issues in a mutually beneficial way,” said Cunningham.      

As a recipient of the Kellogg Awards, UofL will receive $2,500 to produce a two-minute video showcasing the university’s journey with its partnerships, which will be shown at the ESC Annual Conference and will also be reviewed as a part of the review process for the Magrath Awards. If selected for the Magrath Awards, UofL will receive a sculpture and a $20,000 prize.

The effort, , is a collaboration of 130 public universities. The program was unveiled Nov. 11 during the annual meeting of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), which is organizing the collaborative effort.

Participating institutions will work in clusters. UofL is part of the metropolitan cluster, which comprises 12 institutions that face similar challenges such as educating students who are first-generation, low income and/or minorities.

“I’m so glad to be part of this incredible, exciting national collaboration,” said Provost Beth Boehm. “We hope to leverage the power of teamwork to address common barriers that prevent our students from completing a college education.”

Boehm said provosts and other key administrators who are part of the metropolitan cluster spent nearly six hours Nov. 10 defining the issues and processes they want to address. “We felt energized by the work and are ready to move forward,” she said.

According to the APLU, Powered  by  Publics  represents  the  largest  ever  collaborative  effort  to  improve  college  access and equity  and increase the number of college degrees awarded.  In addition  to those  goals, participating institutions have pledged to share  aggregate data demonstrating their progress.

“Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed a real and growing enthusiasm among public university leaders to advance college completion nationally,” said APLU President Peter McPherson. “We have to seize the moment and mobilize institutions to improve not just college access but also equity in student outcomes and the number of students who earn degrees.”