UTRGV will host its second National Manufacturing Expo and Exhibition, Feb. 16 and 17 on the Edinburg Campus. The event is geared toward middle, high school and college students as well as teachers and parents.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science will host the two-day event to promote and cultivate public interests in manufacturing innovation and STEM. The event is possible with support from two national consortia – DoD I-DREAM4D and DOE CA2REERS.

Jianzhi Li, UTRGV professor of manufacturing engineering and principal investigator on the I-DREAM4D and CA2REERS project, said the purpose of this expo is to bring research and education opportunities to UTRGV students, help create well-paying jobs in South Texas, and help revitalize a world-class American manufacturing base and workforce in the United States.

“World-class Manufacturing calls for a world-class workforce, with interdisciplinary STEM knowledge and skills,” Li said.

“UTRGV plays an important role in rebuilding the world-class manufacturing base, which requires strategically restructured research, education and workforce development programs, through which we prepare world-class engineers and workers who are acquainted with skills needed to operate, design, develop, and manage the advanced manufacturing processes and systems.”

The Expo Agenda

The first day of the National Manufacturing Expo and Exhibition consists of speakers from various manufacturing organizations. These include the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense STEM, Army Research Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Speakers also will come from the Naval Sea Systems Command, Oakridge National Laboratory, and the Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation program.

The expo then moves from the Edinburg Performing Arts Complex A Auditorium to three different exhibition locations on campus (Engineering Lobby, Ballroom and TMAC Building) to an exhibition space. Here the U.S. Department of Energy Laboratories, defense contractors, energy enterprises, South Texas manufacturers and Valley regional partners will share information sessions and live demonstrations exploring the field of manufacturing engineering.

The second day will feature information sessions on internship, scholarship and employment opportunities at DoD Labs, Department of Energy Labs and the manufacturing firms.

Students with the Center for Advanced Manufacturing Innovation and Cyber Systems will also demonstrate their research in Smart Manufacturing, Additive Manufacturing, Robotics, Cyber Manufacturing driven by AI, the Internet of Things and Data Analytics.

Li strongly encourages students and the university community to attend the Expo & Exhibition to learn about manufacturing, multidisciplinary and cutting-edge fields of advanced materials and additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, robots and more.

For special accommodations or more information, contact Lesly Orozco Zarate at Lesly.Orozco01@utrgv.edu.