Three Va. universities join Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute

Virginia Tech, George Mason, VCU join $111M national public-private partnership

Published January 7, 2021 by Sydney Lake

Virginia Tech announced Thursday it has been named a managing member of the Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CyManII), an $111 million public-private partnership led by the University of Texas at San Antonio. George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University will also participate in the institute.

CyManII will enter into a five-year agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to lead 59 member institutions in the program, which is aimed at getting American manufacturers and supply chains to adopt cybersecure, energy-efficient methods as well as building a national program for education and workforce development.

“As a land-grant university, the membership reaffirms our commitment to serving the commonwealth of Virginia and beyond to meet digital and technology workforce needs,” Dan Sui, Virginia Tech vice president of research and innovation, said in a statement. “CyManII demonstrates stakeholder synergy that involves national labs, research universities and private companies.”

Virginia Tech mechanical engineering professor Chris Williams will coordinate and represent Virginia Tech with CyManII.

“We have already been working on strategies and technologies for mitigating and detecting the cyberattacks on 3D printing technologies,” Williams said in a statement. “Digital manufacturing is an integral part of our economy. There are so many different applications for cybersecurity and so many different threats. We have first laid the groundwork for identifying cyberthreats and vulnerabilities.”