In 2021, the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) awarded North Carolina State University Industry Extension Services (IES) one of five grants under the Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program (NC DMCSP). The NC DMCSP aims to make long-term investments in critical skills, facilities, workforce development, research and development, and advanced textiles/autonomous wearables and targeted infrastructure technologies to support the survivability, performance, and lethality of warfighters and warfighter systems.

By continuously expanding the number of collaborating organizations (government, academia, defense manufacturing institutes, advocacy groups, manufacturers and innovators/entrepreneurs), the NC DMCSP will increase the collective capacity of the state to respond to DoD modernization priorities. 

On June 27, the First Flight Venture Center will showcase six innovators who graduated from the DMCSP Propeller Pre-Accelerator Program. Building on the insights from this 6-week course, they will demonstrate their smart textile & wearable concepts for the purposes of determining potential markets and communicating the value of their ideas to support the survivability, performance and lethality of the warfighter. These projects include wearable technologies, smart textiles, and advanced materials. Each company will share its design and explain why they believe its product has the potential to impact the warfighter positively.

Are you interested in attending and previewing these innovative ideas? Contact Michael Mullins, Director of North Carolina Defense Industry Diversification Initiative (NCDIDI) at mrmulli2@ncsu.edu