UofL assumes responsibility for Kentucky’s MEP program
The University of Louisville (UofL) Research Foundation is joining the ranks of organizations operating Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) programs for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
In its recent announcement, NIST named three other recipients of cooperative agreements to operate MEP Centers. They are the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Rhode Island Research Foundation, and South Dakota’s Lake Area Technical College. In the case of the UofL, the first-time awardee was also funded at the highest amount of the four – $6,217,500 over five years.
Awardees will sign a cooperative agreement for an initial performance period of up to five years and must meet a cost-share requirement. The awardees in Nebraska and Rhode Island have been operating existing MEP Centers for nearly 10 consecutive years, while the awardees in Kentucky and South Dakota are new to the MEP National Network of centers.
The University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services, established in 1963 and one of the nation’s oldest higher education-based programs supporting manufacturers, has operated the State of Tennessee’s MEP program for about 25 years.
