Business & economics, Research, Technology & engineering

White House report provides roadmap for revitalizing U.S. manufacturing

By Sarah Yang

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) released a new report today (Tuesday, July 17) that provides a roadmap for revitalizing the U.S. manufacturing industry, and thereby spur the creation of much-needed jobs.

The PCAST report is a product of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) Steering Committee, whose membership includes leading manufacturing experts from industry and six universities, including the University of California, Berkeley.

“For the U.S economy to flourish, America must have a robust manufacturing sector,” said UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau. “This report maps out exciting and innovative strategies by each of the university, government and business sectors that can ensure that the U.S. will play a leadership role in advancing manufacturing. We at UC Berkeley are excited by this report and are ready to play an active role in moving forward the report’s recommendations.”

The partnership was launched in June 2011 by President Obama as a part of a national effort to enhance the United States’ global competitiveness through investment in technologies leading to high-quality domestic manufacturing jobs.

A White House press release announcing the PCAST report stated that the President believes that a strong U.S. manufacturing sector is a key element to achieving a strong middle class and an economy built to last, and that to grow the economy and create jobs, America needs to make things the rest of the world wants to buy.

“UC Berkeley and California are poised to contribute substantially to this advanced manufacturing arena due to the already substantial base of manufacturing in California and the ongoing work at Berkeley in a broad range of manufacturing education and research,” said David Dornfeld, professor of mechanical engineering and UC Berkeley’s faculty lead on AMP.

Details of the report are available through the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

RELATED INFORMATION