On March 5 - 6, 2019, a one and a half day planning meeting for National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Collaborative Research Center (IUCRC) for Digital Composite Joining and Repair (D-CJAR) was held at the Wardlaw Center, located on the Georgia Tech campus. The IUCRC is an NSF program which encourages research partnerships between universities and industry for the advancement of scientific discovery and development. The vision of D-CJAR is to transform the current practice of joining and repairing composites, which is labor-intensive and requires specialized experience, into a fast, automated and reliable processes enabled by advanced analytical, computational, experimental and digital techniques and tools. GTMI is leading the project together with an interdisciplinary team at GT, as well as two additional academic partners, Oakland University and the University of Tennessee Knoxville.

Respected members of the composite industry, associated with aerospace, automotive, materials and infrastructure sectors attended the D-CJAR IUCRC planning meeting.  The 90+ attendees included managers and subject matter experts from over 30 industry and government organizations including Boeing, Delta Airlines, Ford, John Deere, Lockheed Martin, Solvay, and the United States Air Force, along with an equal number of university researchers.  Pending final NSF approval, the IUCRC would open early next year.  The D-CJAR IUCRC proposal was successfully submitted on June 18th, and the decision from NSF is expected by the end of 2019.