Keynotes

Technology and Workforce Development for Competitiveness

Mark Johnson
Director, Center for Advanced Manufacturing; Thomas F. Hash Endowed Chair in Sustainable Development, Department of Materials Science and Engineering – College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences; Advanced Manufacturing, Energy Efficient Manufacturing, Manufacturing, Clemson University

In 2022, the US passed the CHIPS Act as a significant step forward in US manufacturing competitiveness. Focused primarily on semiconductor manufacturing, the CHIPS Act also provided resources for significant technical and workforce development investment across the economy. The impact on US competitiveness in areas of advanced manufacturing and economic growth are expected to be significant. US science and technology leadership are to be leveraged to transform how we work and how we learn across society. This talk will highlight some of the programs being supported and how this investment might impact people in regions across the nation.

Mark Johnson is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Director of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing at Clemson University. His research focusses on the investigation of clean-energy technologies and innovation in advanced manufacturing, new materials, and semiconductor technologies, as well as the translation of these new technologies to commercial applications. In addition to an academic, he has been a federal government official and a successful venture capital supported technology entrepreneur.

In the summer of 2019, he was the Fulbright-Hall Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Vienna (Austria) examining entrepreneurial pathways for the advancement of new energy technologies comparing the United States and Central Europe.