NC: NC State Awarded Department of War-funded METAL Hub to Advance Metals Workforce

North Carolina State University is proud to announce a new partnership with the Metallurgical Engineering Trades Apprenticeship & Learning (METAL) to enhance and scale up industry-driven training opportunities for current and prospective metalworking and manufacturing professionals. Led by IACMI – The Composites Institute® with funding from the Department of War’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program, METAL strengthens and diversifies the U.S. metal manufacturing workforce, focusing on casting, forging and plate rolling.

The METAL (Metallurgical Engineering Trades Apprenticeships & Learning) program is a national network of universities offering immersive bootcamps, workshops, and training modules in casting, forging, and related processes. NC State’s hub will fill a critical gap by adding powder metallurgy and powder-enabled forging to the curriculum — technologies now central to aerospace, defense, and high-performance manufacturing.

“Integrating NC State into the METAL program amplifies our workforce development initiatives throughout the region,” said Lucinda Curry, METAL National Workforce Manager at IACMI. “Many students and job seekers don’t realize the innovation, technology, and career potential in metal casting and forging. By collaborating with educational institutions, we’re opening the door to exciting, high-impact careers in these vital industries.”One way to describe Dr. Gracious Ngaile’s lab in Engineering Building III on NC State’s Centennial Campus is “heavy metal.”

At NC State, the hub will be Co-led by Dr. Tim Horn, Associate Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Director of Research at the Center for Additive Manufacturing and Logistics (CAMAL), and Director of the Powder Materials Manufacturing Facility; and Dr. Gracious Ngaile, Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Director of the Advanced Metal Forming and Tribology Lab (AMT_Lab). Together, they bring internationally recognized expertise in powder production, additive manufacturing, and advanced forming processes.

The NC State METAL Hub will be open to the public, offering Bootcamps and Workshops — immersive training in powder metallurgy, additive manufacturing, and forging, reaching K-12, students, apprentices, and working professionals. The program will also feature the Manufacturing Road Show — a novel, weeklong immersive manufacturing statewide engagement model in which participants visit and actively work with multiple North Carolina manufacturers to experience real-world scale industrial practices.

“By leveraging NC State’s world-class facilities and expertise, we will prepare participants to meet the workforce needs of the aerospace and defense industries while ensuring North Carolina remains at the forefront of advanced manufacturing,” said Horn.

Ngaile added, “Our hub will deliver hands-on training in the science and practice of metal forming and powder metallurgy, equipping engineers and technicians with the skills to drive innovation and competitiveness.”

With this award, NC State joins leading institutions including Penn State, The Ohio State University, Michigan Tech, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville as part of the METAL network. The hub underscores NC State’s commitment to advancing U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, strengthening supply chains, and training a resilient workforce.