Lockheed Martin will announce today a $1 million grant to Metropolitan State University of Denver during the inauguration of the school's new Aerospace and Engineering Sciences Building. The grant and work there will shape the workforce of the future in manufacturing affordable, capable, innovative spacecraft.

The funds, distributed over four years, establish an on-campus Lockheed Martin Additive Manufacturing Laboratory, where students can use a state-of-the-art 3-D printer to design and create aerospace components. The grant also establishes an endowed director of the Advanced Manufacturing Sciences Institute. Lockheed Martin leads the space industry in advanced manufacturing technologies, including 3-D printing, robotics, virtual reality and materials research.

"This grant is an investment in the futures of the students at MSU Denver and the aerospace community," said Brian O'Connor, vice president of Production Operations at Lockheed Martin Space Systems. "Emerging manufacturing technologies will create possibilities we can only dream of today, like printing an entire satellite from the ground up or printing complex parts that we can't machine using traditional methods. We're helping students design with those new concepts in mind so the next space missions are innovative, affordable and faster to market. This lab will help students unleash their creativity in engineering tomorrow's great advancements."

"With support from key partners like Lockheed Martin, MSU Denver can offer students education opportunities that directly address workforce needs in Colorado's key industry clusters," said Stephen M. Jordan, Ph.D., MSU Denver President. "Students now have the rare opportunity to work with technology and equipment used by some of the top advanced manufacturing companies in the world."

Lockheed Martin and MSU Denver have a long-standing partnership focused on developing manufacturing talent and technologies. The company helped guide the curriculum that grew to be the Advanced Manufacturing Sciences bachelor's degree and will continue to provide an open pipeline of talent for co-ops, interns and graduates.