2015 portfolio highlight - speechwriting (contributor, not author)

10/5/2015 Remarks for Opening of the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII) at Goose Island

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Remarks for Opening of the DigitalManufacturing and Design InnovationInstitute (DMDII) at Goose Islandnist.gov (http://www.nist.gov/director/speeches/20150511mayspeech.cfm) · May 11, 2015

Chicago, Ill.

Dr. Willie E. May, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards andTechnology and Director, National Institute of Standards andTechnology

[As prepared.]

Thank you, Dean, for that introduction, and good morning everyone.

It’s truly a pleasure for me to be here to see the results of so many people’s hardwork pay off in this beautiful facility here on Goose Island.

This has been years in the making. But it really is true that good things come tothose who wait. It has certainly worked for me here recently.

Thank you to the DMDII Team and the UI Labs, especially Dean, CaralynnNowinski, and Bill King for your tireless efforts.

http://www.nist.gov/director/speeches/20150511mayspeech.cfm



Thank you to the City of Chicago and to Mayor Emanuel, Governor Rauner,Senator Durbin and all who have been supporting them.

Thanks also to the Department of Defense for the $70 million in seed fundingand support that got the ball rolling. In particular, Andre Grudger, whounfortunately could not join us today, Adele Radcliff, and their team, for theircollaboration and hard work helping pull all the partners together.

It is fitting that this section of Chicago is undergoing a bit of a rebirth, becausethat’s exactly what this Institute will be helping us accomplish for U.S. advancedmanufacturing.

As everyone here knows, manufacturing is central to both our economic andnational security, which explains why the Departments of Defense andCommerce have joined forces to help support this Institute and others across thecountry.

The National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, or NNMI, that thisInstitute is part of, is President’s Obama’s vision for how the U.S. can ensure astrong future in global markets for American made products.

It’s all about the partnerships. In fact, about two-thirds of the best U.S.innovations come from collaborations between companies, governmentagencies, federal laboratories, and research universities, according to recentresearch by the University of California, Davis.

As we’ve already heard from others, DMDII certainly has partnerships covered.

The team is to be commended for doing such a great job of gathering so many ofthe key players in digital technology under one roof with a common purpose.



Partnerships are also a central defining trait for my agency. For those of you notfamiliar with NIST, we are a federal science and technology agency that is partof the Department of Commerce.

We were created by Congress at the beginning of the last century to support U.S.manufacturers with the measurements, standards, and technologies that theyneeded to compete with other countries. And we continue to this day, with adiverse portfolio of measurements, standards and technology research,manufacturing extension services, consortia, best practice guidance, and othertools that manufacturers need to innovate and sell their products in the globalmarketplace.

We see great promise for this digital manufacturing institute as a place wherethose who design things and those who make things find common ground and ashared vocabulary. In the process, you will be helping manufacturers move to afully realizable “ones and zeroes” world where truly amazing things arepossible. We at NIST are committed to supporting DMDII through both our lab-based research program and our Advanced Manufacturing National ProgramOffice.

Additionally, working through our Manufacturing Extension Partnership—including the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center right here in Chicago—NIST wants to help smaller manufacturers exploit those opportunities byreducing barriers for adoption of digital technologies.

Your Institute’s central location in this great city of Chicago, and in fact, in theheartland of our nation, is ideal for helping advance this new industrialrevolution.



And in the process, I see great things for this local community in building a 21stcentury workforce trained in the advanced digital technologies thatmanufacturers need now to improve their operations.

So, thanks so much for inviting me to share in this celebration.

We’re here to support you and this strong partnership as you help us all learn tospin digital thread into economic gold.

nist.gov (http://www.nist.gov/director/speeches/20150511mayspeech.cfm) · May 11,2015

http://www.nist.gov/director/speeches/20150511mayspeech.cfm

2015 portfolio highlight - speechwriting (contributor, not author)

Government & Nonprofit