Wichita State University and longtime Innovation Campus partner Dassault Systèmes will celebrate the grand opening of the Manufacturing Innovation Center, an advanced research and design facility located on WSU’s Innovation Campus, on Tuesday, May 21.

Developed in partnership with WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), the center is designed to help aviation companies of all sizes improve resilience and efficiency using virtual twin technology and 3D design solutions. The Manufacturing Innovation Center is a world-class research and design facility available to private-sector project teams that want hands-on proof of what the virtual world can do for their design processes, supply chains and manufacturing facilities. 

Located alongside a growing network of industry-driven labs and offices on Wichita State’s Innovation Campus, the Manufacturing Innovation Center strengthens the university’s role as a global hub for applied research and innovation in aerospace and advanced manufacturing.

Demonstrations at the facility will include:

• eXtended Reality (XR) Lab – Experience immersive, full-scale simulation in the world’s largest flexible VR cave
• Automation Research Center – Explore advanced robotic systems and intelligent automation at scale, demonstrating real-world manufacturing integration
• Reverse Engineering Lab – From physical to virtual: agile part re-creation and inspection workflows
• Additive Manufacturing Lab – Scalable 3D printing for functional prototyping and production

As part of the event, guests will tour NIAR’s Advanced Technologies Lab for Aerospace Systems (ATLAS), which offers companies a place to experiment with cutting-edge materials, structures, and processes before committing to large capital investments.

The program will also feature remarks from an executive at Bell Textron, along with leaders from Dassault Systèmes’ DELMIA brand.

Dassault Systèmes first partnered with Wichita State in 2015, becoming one of the early collaborators on the Innovation Campus. Since then, the 3DEXPERIENCE Center, which opened in 2017, has served as a key site for digital transformation in aerospace.

The Manufacturing Innovation Center represents the latest milestone in WSU’s ongoing efforts to connect students, researchers and global industry leaders to solve real-world challenges and accelerate the future of flight.

For more information about Dassault Systèmes, visit www.3ds.com.

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Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 23,000 students between its main campus and the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech), including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student-centered and innovation-driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students. The National Science Foundation ranked WSU No. 1 in the nation for aerospace engineering R&D, No. 2 for industry-funded engineering R&D and No. 8 overall for engineering R&D.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.

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