E-RISE RII: Research Center for Distributed Resilient and Emergent-Intelligence-Based Additive Manufacturing

This initiative is a collaboration among four minority-serving institutions: New Mexico State University, the University of New Mexico, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and Navajo Technical University. The project will build the underpinnings for an advanced distributed intelligent additive manufacturing (DIAM) infrastructure. The broad vision of this project is to make foundational innovations in distributed networking, cybersecurity, and digital-twin design in additive manufacturing (AM) leading to the creation of robust research programs in AM in New Mexico.

This, in turn, will spur the creation of a diverse, well-trained workforce that will make New Mexico competitive in AM. The project will establish the Center for Distributed Resilient and Emergent intelligence-based Additive Manufacturing (DREAM) to make distributed AM a reality. This initiative aligns with New Mexico’s Economic Development and Science & Technology plans.

The resulting democratization of manufacturing will spur inclusive economic growth in the state and contribute to national efforts to onshore manufacturing. The project capitalizes on several strengths in New Mexico. The state has a diverse higher education system, collaborative federal laboratories, an engaged private sector, and state funding interests aligned with the DREAM project.

The proposed research will establish the groundwork for DIAM by developing the networking and security framework essential to AM and Industry 4.0 contexts. DREAM aims to develop a successful research center, utilizing expertise from various sectors, to cultivate an advanced AM infrastructure. The Center will become an epicenter of expertise in intelligent AM driven by the following intellectual merit: (1) assessing architectural challenges in DIAM networking and security, and proposing a scalable, cloud-edge continuum blueprint through software virtualization and containerization; (2) addressing security and trust needs in DIAM, and proposing frameworks to overcome challenges; (3) ensuring verifiability and auditability of DIAM; and (4) building a novel distributed testbed infrastructure with a digital twin to refine networking, security, and communication processes for DIAM support.

Collaborations with research universities across the state, national laboratories, and industry will contribute to the project’s long-term success. While AM educational initiatives are currently found in college-level engineering courses, DREAM's efforts will be unique. The project will provide an integrated pathway, starting with middle school and continuing to the doctoral and post-doctoral levels.

Additionally, DREAM's educational models will be intertwined with research experiences and infused with pedagogical models that promote diversity, inclusion, and belonging. This project is poised to make significant contributions to the fields of AM, cybersecurity, and education, ultimately strengthening New Mexico's economic and technological landscape.

This project is funded by the NSF EPSCoR Research Incubators for STEM Excellence (E-RISE) RII Program. The E-RISE RII Program supports the development and implementation of sustainable broad networks of individuals, institutions, and organizations that will transform the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research capacity and competitiveness in a jurisdiction within a field of research aligned with the jurisdiction's science and technology priorities.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.