HAMR (Hub for Advanced Manufacturing Research) - Construction Completion
Quarterly Spotlight: Construction on NIAR’s Hub for Advanced Manufacturing and Research building (HAMR) was completed in February 2026. WSU took occupancy on the building in March 2026.
Exterior Enclosing Spring 2025
HAMR Lobby
Digital Twin Modeling Lab
Canteen Non-ITAR Area
Executive Boardroom
East Side with Lobby Entrance
February 2026
- Manufacturing gases and supplies delivered and set up in proper storage areas.
- Elevators and building safety systems certified.
- Machinery and equipment delivered, set up, and recommissioned.
- Building construction punch list tasks completed.
- Office, lobby, meeting rooms and public space furniture set-up completed.
- AV signs, TV, and monitors installed.
- Staff canteen/break rooms became functional.
- Parking lot signage installed and striped.
March 2026
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- Landscaping and circular drive completed.
- WSU took occupancy of the HAMR building.
Additive Manufacturing Adoption
- Additives Materials group hostedtrainingon qualified process control for Laser Powder Bed Fusionforsix additive manufacturing suppliersat NIAR headquarters in Wichita.This milestone represents the inaugural training session under the Joint Additive Qualification for Sustainment (JAQS) program anddesigned to accelerate additive manufacturing adoption across the defense industrial base(DIB).
- Final fatigue testing complete. Alloy718 specs draft is written and is in review by industry partners. White Paper will be submitted to NCAMP for board approval with an estimated publish date by August 31, 2026.
- The Additive Manufacturing Instructor created a spreadsheet of manufacturing companies for NIAR Additives Training. A targeted email blast was sent out to companies in states surrounding Kansas resulting in an increase in NIAR Newsletter subscribers and a Rolls Royce employee attending the February Policy Makers class.
- ATLAS’ research paper regarding the AI-driven IAMIS process was published in the February 2026 SAMPE journal. Its overbraided duct, a collaboration among ATLAS, A&P Technology, and Fiber Dynamics, was named a 2025 CAMX finalist in the Combined Strength category.
Smart Manufacturing/Future Factory
- WSU Tech continues to provide hands-on Smart Factory training in for-credit ROB104, Robotics Simulation classes.
- WSU Tech celebrated it’s “top off” ceremony on March 24th for their NCAT expansion building. Once the building is completed in the late Fall of 2026, plans are to move their Smart Factory into the new facility where they can expand and offer for-credit and non-credit opportunities for students, apprentices, and industry trainees.
- NIAR AMP received EDA permission to proceed with a competitive equipment bid process for an overhead crane and free-standing runway system to be installed near its gantry CNC machines.
- AMP training in this quarter included GD&T Analysis, Portable Arm and AS1, Tracker AT96OLR, Tprobe/ SMR/Concepts, and one-on-one CMM training with the metrology lab manager.
- AMP hosted several high-level industry tours with the New American Industrial Alliance, Modig Machine, Gulfstream, Matsurra, Gosigner, and Shape Corp. AMP training opportunities were noted during tours.
Governance and Evaluation
- Wichita State University’s Public Policy and Management Center (PPMC) launched the Kansas Data Trust in March 2026 after collaborating with government agencies, academia, non-profits, and other civic organizations.
- Strategic Initiatives staff continue to work with ecosystem partners, providing technical assistance for WSU faculty teaching Spring NSF I-Corps virtual classes.
- Members from the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce attended a City-to-City Leadership visit in Detroit, learning how peer communities address challenges and drive growth in industry innovation, regional collaboration, and workforce.
- During National Women in Aviation Week, March 28, 2026, the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) recognized talented women working in their labs, making innovative strides in research, design, prototyping, project management and leadership.
| Training (Sep. 2022 -Mar. 2026) | # of Firms Served | # of Clients Served | # of Training Offerings | Total Training Hours | # Upcoming Training Scheduled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Additive Manufacturing | 38 | 126 | 15 | 1,620 | Intro to Additive Manufacturing, July 15-16, 2026 |
| Automated Fiber Placement | 90 | 595 | 16 | 7,453 | AFP Operations & Maintenance, May 12-15, 2026 |
| Machining Training | 76 | 472 | 25 | 10,558 | Hexagon –CMM and PC-DMIS metrology software class –TBD, July 2026 |
| Future Factory Training | 190 | 1,753 | 29 | 17,818* | Spring 2026 for-credit IoT courses, CMMC conference workshops in San Diego and Wichita in April and May, Summer Middle School STEM camps |
| Total (Cumulative To Date) | 394 | 2,946 | 85 | 27,449* | *Includes attendance numbers for 8 weeks of summer STEM camps |
