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If the effort – which involves government, academia and industry – comes to fruition, it would involve the transplant of manufactured tissues and organs into patients, including injured American service members.Kamen told the New Hampshire Union Leader the initiative has the backing of 40 national companies and 40 academic research institutions. He said it will be headquartered in the historic Manchester millyard and Kamen hopes it might “bring to Manchester what the automobile brought to Detroit.’’In a statement, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said the Department of Defense will award $80 million toward the effort over five years.“This is a monumental investment in the future of New Hampshire, and further establishes this region as a hub for scientific research and development,” Shaheen, outgoing Sen. Kelly Ayotte and incoming Sen. Maggie Hassan said in a joint statement.“This award will bring good jobs to Manchester, complementing our region’s emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education,” they said.She said the effort will be led by DEKA Research & Development Corporation (DEKA), the University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth-Hitchcock.The effort involves the creation of the 13th institute by Manufacturing USA, an initiative launched five years ago by the Obama Administration to encourage innovation in manufacturing.Its tentative name is “ARMI” as in Advanced Regenerative Medical Institute.The Manufacturing USA institute website says its focus is “on moving promising, early-stage research into proven capabilities ready for adoption by U.S. manufacturers. Their diverse membership includes ... manufacturers, as well as researchers from universities and government laboratories. The institutes provide members with access to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, as well as workforce training and skills development customized to support new technology areas. Collaboration at institutes, and now through the network, creates an innovation community ushering in the next generation manufacturing supply chains located in America and employing Americans.”The network is operated by the interagency Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office, headquartered in the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in the Department of Commerce. In addition to Defense, the office partners with the Department of Energy, NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education and the Department of Agriculture.The award to Kamen and DEKA was finalized over the weekend. A pilot, Kamen flew himself and several members of his DEKA team to Washington Tuesday for today’s announcement.Kamen is a longtime millyard entrepreneur. He told the Union Leader that he expects this latest effort “to do for the Manchester millyard what the industrial revolution did for it when it was the largest industrial center in America.’’Kamen and his team hold several patents. He has designed and produced several pump devices for auto-immune diseases such as diabetes as well as a portable kidney-dialysis machine. He invented the stair-climbing wheelchair and the Segway motorized vehicle.He also started FIRST, a robotics competition for high school students that began in New Hampshire and is now in many countries around the world.In their statement, Shaheen, Ayotte and Hassan said: “This is a very exciting opportunity for our state’s college graduates to work on the cutting edge of biomedical research. This is an immense and critically important mission, and we have full faith in this esteemed coalition as they take on this research that will save lives on the battlefield as well as here at home.”
They said location in Manchester is a logical next-step for a city with a long history of innovation, strong public-private partnerships and a robust pipeline of students educated in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
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