{"id":9246,"date":"2023-05-19T16:16:49","date_gmt":"2023-05-19T16:16:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=9246"},"modified":"2023-12-08T20:59:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T20:59:00","slug":"the-institute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=9246","title":{"rendered":"The Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Auburn University Applied Research Institute operates within the Auburn University Research and Innovation Campus only minutes from the Gate 9 entrance toRedstone Arsenal, a 38,000-acre federal research, development, test and engineering center housing NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center and the Army\u2019s missile aviation and missile defense programs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Google \u201cHuntsville\u201d and \u201cTech Hub\u201d and you get 21,300 results. Some are on sites you\u2019ve never heard of. Plenty are on those you have. CNBC. Business Insider. The Atlantic.<\/p>\n

The CBS article \u2014 a Top 10 list \u2014 is titled \u201cAmerica\u2019s fastest-growing tech cities aren\u2019t on the coasts.\u201d Baltimore\u2019s at No. 10, Jackson\u2019s No. 9, Nashville\u2019s No. 8. And it goes on like that all the way down the line \u2014 Salt Lake City, Orlando, Kansas City. And then there\u2019s No. 1 \u2014 Huntsville.<\/p>\n

That story was published six years ago. And Huntsville\u2019s status as a major staging ground for the science and engineering solutions that will help America stay America, the world\u2019s principal player in aerospace, in defense, in cyber, even in biotech, has only grown.<\/p>\n

In other words, in the U.S., Huntsville is where the action is. Which is why, now, it\u2019s where Auburn is, like never before.<\/p>\n

\u201cHuntsville is trying to meet the needs of the country,\u201d said Steve Taylor, former interim dean of engineering. \u201cAnd Auburn is going to help meet the needs of Huntsville. That\u2019s the idea behind the Auburn University Applied Research Institute<\/a> (AUARI).\u201d<\/p>\n

That idea was conceived in early 2021 during talks on expanding Auburn\u2019s long-term Rocket City research strategy and cemented with the purchase and October 2022 grand-opening of the 9-acre, Auburn University Research and Innovation Campus<\/a> located within minutes of Redstone Arsenal\u2019s Gate 9 entrance. The Institute would serve as a state-of-the-art, multi-million-dollar collaboration engine, conference center and 40,000 square foot research space leveraging the entire Auburn University enterprise, not just the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2010, our college launched the Huntsville Research Center (HRC) which really championed the Auburn Engineering brand in Huntsville, just on a slightly smaller scale,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThat was an incredible investment that paid off with some really powerful, really impactful partnerships. But over the past few years, it became obvious that we needed to scale up. So, we\u2019re using the dividends from the HRC to double-down on our commitment to extend Auburn\u2019s next-generation resources to the defense, space, biotech and law enforcement agencies and companies in Huntsville, and at Redstone, that are trying to solve serious problems. We think our approach to applied research can help them do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brock Birdsong, AUARI\u2019s director of research, agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cApplied research is where the rubber meets the road,\u201d Birdsong said. \u201cYou\u2019re taking new knowledge generated from research and applying it not to theoretical problems \u2014 you\u2019re taking on pressing problems in need of real, immediate solutions. You\u2019re getting your hands dirty. That\u2019s how real innovation is born.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his new role, Birdsong, a principal research engineer for the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering since 2017, is using his 30 years\u2019 experience as an Army engineer \u2014 plus his well-respected defense industry acumen \u2014 to mobilize the institute\u2019s Military Robotics\/AI Laboratory. The lab will use an applied focus on integrating robotic capabilities in support of Army modernization and serve as a testbed for integration of multiple robotic platforms in multiple environments.<\/p>\n

Other labs include the Space Manufacturing Laboratory, with focus areas including on-demand fabrication, structural printing, equipment repair, and recycling and reuse, as well as the Applied Cybernetics Laboratory focused on critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, food and agriculture industries, and public transportation.<\/p>\n

Last, but if its most recent acquisition is any indication, no way near the least, there\u2019s the Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) Lab allowing for investigations into the unique properties and constraints of additive manufacturing while aiming to optimize production designs. To those ends, it will house one of only 14 Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) machines in the country, and the first in Alabama. Donated by manufacturer Cincinnati Inc., the massive BAAM can literally 3D print a car.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you \u2014 when we say we\u2019re thinking big up here, we\u2019re thinking big,\u201d Birdsong said with a smile. \u201cThat\u2019s what our students deserve, and that\u2019s what our country needs \u2014 big ideas and the brains to turn them into reality. Providing the next generation of Auburn Engineers everything we can to ensure that they have the necessary skills and resources to tackle the technological challenges our Huntsville partners are working on 24 hours a day. We\u2019re going to be able to produce great students that can address some serious American workforce gaps because we\u2019re investing in the tools to do it. There will be incredible research conducted in the institute. But it isn\u2019t going to be done in a vacuum. It\u2019s going to be integrated into the college\u2019s mission of providing the best student-centered engineering experience in America.\u201d<\/p>\n

The BAAM printer, Taylor said, is a perfect example.<\/p>\n

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The massive BAAM printer housed in the Auburn University Applied Research Institute is the only machine of its kind in the state.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOur students are going to be able to use and experiment and learn great things from that platform. And there will be industry experts teaching them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Donovan Johnson, previously a mechanical engineer for Raytheon Missiles & Defense, one of the world\u2019s largest aerospace and defense manufacturers, was recently hired to head the DfAM Lab.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a huge machine and it\u2019s going to have a huge payoff,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cIt\u2019s an educational experience that other people don\u2019t offer. Providing our students the opportunities and access to conduct applied research that can immediately solve problems and actually matters, while also offering companies and agencies access to our students, is just going to grow that already wide pipeline between our engineering graduates and Huntsville employers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just like that sign over there says.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Taylor points in the direction of a digital billboard not far from the campus that, for several years, has advertised several of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering\u2019s marquee initiatives. But an ad appearing at the start of each semester reads:<\/p>\n

\u201cThousands of Auburn Engineers started class today \u2014 how many will you need?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a fun slogan that we use,\u201d he said. \u201cBut at the same time, we\u2019re being serious. Auburn engineers are in high demand. In Huntsville, that demand is getting higher every year. The AUARI is already facilitating collaborations and contracts between our faculty and Huntsville government and industry leaders in our strategic research areas because Huntsville wants our expertise. But they don\u2019t just want our research \u2014 they want our graduates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Birdsong agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want more of Huntsville and Huntsville wants more Auburn,\u201d Birdsong said. \u201cThe next time you see a story or something in the news about all of the reasons why Huntsville is the Silicon Valley of the South, we want the Auburn University Applied Research Institute to get a line or two.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Birdsong says the billboard advertisement announcing the AUARI may have put it best.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was driving to the Arsenal last year and I looked up and saw two words,\u201d Birdsong said. \u201c\u2018More Eagle.\u2019 I thought \u2018Exactly.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n