University Times

Pitt’s Manufacturing Assistance Center (MAC), part of the Department of Industrial Engineering in the engineering school, has received a $200,000 grant from the state to pay for training programs, technical expertise and equipment.

The center is a technology transfer center with skilled staff and state-of-the-art equipment. It offers technical assistance and research and development and educational resources to the academic and industrial community of western Pennsylvania. It also offers training to displaced workers and other members of the community.

Since its inception in 1994, MAC has completed numerous technical assistance projects involving new product development, material and machine process testing, cellular manufacturing, automation simulation and starting a business. MAC also has been instrumental in retaining and increasing employment in the western Pennsylvania manufacturing sector.

As a center for technology transfer and manufacturing innovation, MAC offers computer-aided design and manufacturing software tools linked to computer numerical control machine tools. Working in partnership with private industry, MAC is part of the development of the regional RoboCorridor, which promotes automation and agile robots.

“The Manufacturing Assistance Center has been providing technical assistance and resources to businesses and researchers in western Pennsylvania for 12 years,” said Gerald Holder, U.S. Steel Dean of Engineering at Pitt. “We are always pleased that the commonwealth also supports this important economic endeavor.”

State Rep. Frank Dermody (D-33) presented the grant last month.

For more information on MAC, visit www.mac.pitt.edu.