MSU named Mississippi’s ACE Composites Hub to train aerospace workforce

Contact: Chris Whitaker

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State now is the leader of the Magnolia State’s efforts to train the next generation of aerospace composites talent. Earning the designation as America’s Cutting Edge Composites Hub, MSU will deliver free, hands-on workforce training supported by the U.S. Department of War through the U.S. Department of Energy-backed Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation.

Funded for three years through the Department of War’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program, the initiative is led by the MSU Bagley College of Engineering’s Innovation Design and Engineering Education Laboratory, or IDEElab, along with the university’s Advanced Composites Institute, or ACI.

The program focuses on industry-driven training for at least 750 participants, including college students, community members and company employees, through in-person boot camps, particularly in aerospace composites manufacturing, while also developing K-12 STEM outreach activities and performing laboratory upgrades. In addition, the project also builds on the America’s Cutting Edge, or ACE, curriculum to develop instructor capacity and a regional delivery network needed to expand aerospace composites training statewide and nationally.

The partnership combines IDEELab’s experience in engineering education and workforce program delivery with ACI’s knowledge in composites manufacturing and industry-focused training. Through its integrated Mississippi Advanced Composites Training Center, ACI connects hands-on instruction with the manufacturing processes and quality expectations used by aerospace and defense employers.

With more than 48 aerospace manufacturing and parts supply companies in the state, this initiative directly addresses a critical regional and national defense workforce shortage. The program also is designed to reduce financial barriers to participation, including support for travel, lodging and meals for qualifying participants.

“The challenge facing advanced manufacturing today is not a lack of opportunity, it is a shortage of people with the specialized skills needed to meet that opportunity. That is especially true in aerospace and defense, where technicians and engineers with hands-on composites experience are critical to strengthening both our industrial base and our national security,” said Ross Smith, IDEELab director and principal investigator.

While the program addresses immediate industry needs through workforce training, Smith said its long-term impact will build student interest in advanced manufacturing much earlier.

“This is about building the workforce pipeline from the ground up,” he said. “We want to expose students to manufacturing careers earlier, give them access to skills they may not traditionally learn in the classroom, and create a pathway that continues from K-12 through community colleges and universities and ultimately into industry. The stronger that pipeline becomes, the stronger Mississippi’s manufacturers and economy become.”

Chris Bounds, ACI director and coprincipal investigator, said one goal is having participants understand how composite parts are made and why each step matters to the quality of the finished product.

“Expanding aerospace and defense manufacturing capacity requires people who can put advanced technologies into practice,” Bounds said. “At ACI, workforce training is closely connected to our work developing and demonstrating composites manufacturing processes. This collaboration with IDEELab will help more people gain the hands-on experience needed to support Mississippi’s manufacturers and strengthen our nation’s industrial base. Building on our experience through the MAC Training Center, this program will help more students and current workers develop practical skills they can use and continue building throughout their careers.”

The program uses a two-part learning structure where participants first complete an accessible online course before applying their skills in an intensive, one-week hands-on boot camp. It also creates a unique training environment in which MSU students can develop advanced composites skills that prepare them for careers in Mississippi’s aerospace and defense industries.

Smith said plans include expanding to regional partner institutions, or “spokes,” so training can be more localized.

“Our goal is to build an aerospace composite training model here at Mississippi State that can serve as a national model for ACE hubs across the country,” Smith said. “Participants won’t just learn what composites are, they’ll understand where they are used, how they are manufactured, why they perform the way they do and gain the hands-on experience needed to take those skills directly into industry.”

To learn more about the IDEELab, visit www.ideelab.org. The Michael W. Hall School of Mechanical Engineering can be found on Facebook, Instagram and X.

To learn more about the ACI and MAC Training Center, visit www.aci.msstate.edu.

The Bagley College of Engineering can be found on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube at @msuengineering.

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