Obama announces new innovation institute

A public-private institute for manufacturing innovation was launched in Youngstown, Ohio, to help encourage U.S. investments, President Obama said Thursday. The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute partnership was to award $30 million in federal funding, matched by $40 million from a consortium of manufacturing firms, universities, community colleges and non-profit organizations from the Ohio-Pennsylvania-West Virginia "Tech Belt," the White House said in a release. "I'm pleased that we are taking steps to strengthen American manufacturing by launching a new manufacturing institute in Ohio," Obama said in a release. "This institute will help make sure that the manufacturing jobs of tomorrow take root not in places like China or India, but right here in the United States of America. That's how we'll put more people back to work and build an economy that lasts." In March, Obama announced plans to invest $1 billion to invigorate a national network of up to 15 "manufacturing innovation institutes" to serve as regional hubs to help to make U.S. manufacturers more competitive and encourage investment in the United States. Five federal agencies -- the departments of Defense, Energy, and Commerce, the National Science Foundation, and NASA -- jointly committed to invest $45 million in a pilot institute on additive manufacturing, the White House said. Thursday's announcement of an initial $30 million award was matched by $40 million from the consortium. Investments such as the pilot institute in Youngstown demonstrate the potential of bringing together companies and universities within a region to partner with the federal government to invest in the cutting-edge technologies and skills manufacturers need to compete globally, Obama administration officials said.