Penn State has tapped CIMP-3D Co-Director Allison Beese to serve as Senior Associate Director of its newly established National Security Institute — bringing additive manufacturing expertise to the forefront of the University’s national security research agenda.
Penn State’s new National Security Institute will work to enhance defense and national security research outside the scope of Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory (a Department of Defense-designated University Affiliate Research Center that supports all the U.S. Armed Force) bringing together interdisciplinary teams to address critical security challenges facing the nation. As Senior Associate Director, Beese will play a key role alongside inaugural Director Karen Thole in securing federal and industrial funding, building partnerships with government agencies and industry, and developing an education and workforce pipeline to meet the nation’s needs in this critical research field.
Beese currently serves as Co-Director of CIMP-3D, director of the Additive Manufacturing and Design graduate program, and associate head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State. Her appointment signals the central role that advanced manufacturing — including metal additive manufacturing — is expected to play in Penn State’s national security research portfolio. The National Security Institute identifies materials science and manufacturing as one of its key focus areas and a national research priority.
Thole, who returns to Penn State after serving as the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering at the University of Michigan, brings deep institutional knowledge and a track record of building large-scale, federally supported research programs. Together, Beese and Thole will work to expand Penn State’s reach in defense-relevant research alongside ARL’s existing mission.
“I look forward to working with Dr. Thole and Dr. Read [who is PSU’s Senior Vice President of Research,] to lead a coalition of academia, industry and federal entities to advance national security-oriented research and educate the next generation workforce,” Beese said.
For organizations interested in partnering with CIMP-3D on defense and national security-related additive manufacturing research, please connect with our team at CIMP-3D.