IACMI-The Composites Institute Concludes Successful Summer Internship

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- IACMI's Summer Internship Program received several hundred applications from more than 116 colleges and universities across the country—with only 15 participants selected and awarded a paid 10-week internship at one of five IACMI partner locations. The program, now completed, provided undergraduate and graduate students with national exposure, hands-on access to state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment and academic interactions with high-level scientists and engineers in advanced composites and manufacturing fields. Summer interns were introduced in Indiana during the IACMI Members Meeting with national laboratories, IACMI partner universities and industry partners such as Volkswagen, Dassault Systèmes and Lockheed Martin.

IACMI interns conduct research at one of five partner sites across the U.S.—Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee—that align with the Composites Institute's five shared research, development, and demonstration facilities; Composite Materials and Process, Compressed Gas Storage, Design, Modeling, and Simulation, Vehicles, and Wind Turbines. IACMI interns partnered with mentors on a variety of projects ranging from designing and producing a composite Hyperloop shell prototype to developing polystyrene microcapsules around a paraffin wax core to be used in the creation of wind turbine blades, all responding to the need for faster and more cost-material- and energy efficient composite manufacturing.

By exposing students to cutting-edge composites technology research, the internship program provides participants with the opportunity to become engaged in and contribute to activities relevant to the composites industry. This helps aid the creation of a new generation of the composites workforce and expand the composites industry for future career growth.

2016 IACMI Summer Interns include:

• Brayden Aller, undergraduate at Vanderbilt University; intern at Vanderbilt University
• Bretton Bethel, undergraduate at Wright State University; intern at University of Dayton Research Institute
• Nicholas Brady, undergraduate at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; intern at National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Colorado School of Mines
• Sawyer Buck, undergraduate at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire; intern at National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Colorado School of Mines
• Mary Elizabeth Daffron, undergraduate with University of Tennessee-Knoxville; intern at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• William Henken, undergraduate at University of Central Florida; intern at Purdue University
• Christopher Hershey, graduate student at Michigan State University; intern at Michigan State University
• Georgia Hurchalla, undergraduate at Michigan Technological University; intern at Purdue University
• Hugh MacDowell, graduate student at Michigan State University; intern at Michigan State University
• Hannah Maeser, undergraduate at Clemson University; intern at University of Tennessee-Knoxville
• Vikas Patel, graduate student at University of Alabama at Birmingham; intern at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Michael Saybolt, graduate student at Michigan State University; intern at Michigan State University
• Kevin Schuett, undergraduate at Michigan State University; intern at Michigan State University
• Kelsey Wells, graduate student at University of Nebraska-Lincoln; intern at Purdue University
• Samuel Williams, undergraduate at Winona State University; intern at Purdue University

"The successful integration of innovative technologies depends on a number of critical factors including the availability of a skilled workforce with hands-on training in advanced materials," said Craig Blue, IACMI-The Composites Institute CEO. "The IACMI Internship Program helps educate and develop the human talent needed to support composites technologies in a broad range of sectors including automotive, wind, compressed gas, aerospace, energy, defense, and other industrial applications."

The IACMI Internship is managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities, (ORAU). Supportive collaborations with IACMI partners lend a diverse experience to the program for recruiting students of high quality and exceptional technical aptitude. For more information, visit IACMI.org and check out the Intern Video to see what this summer's participants studied. Future internship opportunities at IACMI will be announced soon.

About IACMI-The Composites Institute: The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), managed by the Collaborative Composite Solutions Corporation (CCS), is a partnership of industry, universities, national laboratories, and federal, state and local governments working together to benefit the nation's energy and economic security by sharing existing resources and co-investing to accelerate development and commercial deployment of advanced composites. CCS is a not-for-profit organization established by The University of Tennessee Research Foundation. The national institute is supported by a $70 million commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office with over $180 million committed from IACMI's partners. Find out more at IACMI.org.

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SOURCE IACMI - The Composites Institute