WED AM News: WEDC to submit ‘concept paper’ in hopes of landing manufacturing AI project; State infrastructure rated as ‘somewhat ahead’ of national level

September 18, 2024

— WEDC is assembling a “concept paper” later this month for the National Institute of Standards and Technology in hopes of landing a proposed manufacturing AI project in Wisconsin.

Missy Hughes, secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., yesterday highlighted this plan during a meeting of the agency’s board. She said NIST is proposing the creation of a Manufacturing USA Institute focused on artificial intelligence, adding to more than a dozen other such institutes scattered around the country.

“The potential is, between federal funding and private sector matching, to be a tens of millions of dollar-investment in this opportunity,” she said.

After the initial concept papers are submitted, NIST will choose a select few to continue developing their applications.

Hughes yesterday pointed to existing collaborations between UW-Milwaukee and technical colleges along with large manufacturers in the state such as Rockwell Automation, Husco International and Milwaukee Tool as important for the effort.

Other NIST manufacturing institutes are based on collaborations between academic organizations and the private sector, according to Hughes, who also touted the progress being made at Microsoft’s AI Co-Innovation Lab on the UW-Milwaukee campus.

“We are somewhat bullish about Wisconsin’s opportunity to get this … We don’t have anything like this in the state even though we are so heavily manufacturing-oriented,” she said. “And given the opportunities, you know, we’ve developed recently around the co-innovation lab and Microsoft landing here, we feel pretty good that we have a good opportunity to land this institute.”

The AI Co-Innovation Lab is slated to open in mid-2025, but Hughes noted Microsoft is “adamant about moving at speed” to get the project underway as the tech giant also advances its planned $3.3 billion data center project in southeastern Wisconsin.

Partners in the lab project have created a governance team including Hughes, a Microsoft representative, leadership from UWM’s Connected Systems Institute and Titletown Tech Managing Partner Craig Dickman.

“So that we can make sure that we can do everything we can to position Wisconsin for success with the Co-Innovation Lab and make sure we have Wisconsin companies in the pipeline and ready to go through Microsoft’s process,” she said, adding partners will seek to give companies statewide the opportunity to drive AI innovation through the project.

Watch the video.

— The state chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers rates Wisconsin’s infrastructure quality as “somewhat ahead” of the national level.

That’s according to Zoey Meyers, a civil engineer with the chapter and co-chair for the 2024 Wisconsin Infrastructure Report Card, who spoke yesterday during a news conference in Madison. The report’s ratings, based on a letter grade system, reflects various factors such as capacity, condition, funding, future need, public safety and more.

“Many of these things that make Wisconsin a great place to live also present challenges to our state’s infrastructure,” she said. “Roads, bridges and waterway systems need to be built so they can handle the coldest days and the hottest days here in Wisconsin.”

She noted much of this infrastructure was built decades ago, when the state’s population was smaller, and is now being “put to the test.” Meyers also argued state infrastructure is “showing the consequence of decades of deferred maintenance” and is now facing immense strain.

“This is because we have been kicking the proverbial can down the road about fixing and maintaining our critical infrastructure systems,” she said.

The state’s C+ grade for 2024 indicates Wisconsin infrastructure is in “fair condition but still requires attention,” and marks an improvement over an earlier 2020 report card. Wisconsin is one of just three states with a C+ grade, which is the highest cumulative rating that any state has received, Meyers noted.

The state was rated for many infrastructure categories, from bridges, dams, ports and roads to broadband, wastewater, railways and energy.

See the report and watch the video.

— Two professors in the UW-Madison School of Pharmacy are launching the Wisconsin Opioid Overdose Response Center, with a goal of supporting community pharmacies in fighting the opioid epidemic.

The university yesterday announced Profs. Cody Wenthur and Jay Ford will be working to get the WOORC up and running between October 2024 and September 2025. It’s being funded with a $2 million federal appropriation, according to the release.

Once operational, the center aims to provide educational resources to rural and urban pharmacies about overdose treatment as well as overdose reversal drugs and fentanyl testing kits. A central goal is to improve access to treatments for opioid addiction.

Wenthur notes large parts of the state have limited health care access, especially when it comes to mental health care.

“That’s one of the reasons we are so excited about community pharmacies as a way to address this problem — community pharmacy is the most accessible health care resource,” Wenthur said in a statement. “Clinics may be hours away, but pharmacies are there, ready and willing to serve. And that’s not unique to Wisconsin.”

Located at the School of Pharmacy, the regional center will have a “special focus” on fentanyl, a more powerful opioid that’s linked to more than 75% of annual opioid overdose deaths.

See more in the release.

— Madison-based Nordic has announced plans for a national rural health technology initiative with Microsoft, set to launch in November.

The health and tech consulting firm yesterday unveiled details for the Rural Health IT Community, which aims to advance policies to improve rural health care, drive collaboration between rural hospitals and large technology companies and improve cybersecurity for rural care providers. It will be open to “all digital health leaders and solution providers” looking to address rural care needs, according to the release.

Along with Microsoft, the initiative also involves the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, a professional organization for senior leaders in the field. It will officially launch Nov. 6 at the group’s CHIME Fall Forum in San Diego.

Jason Griffin, managing director of digital health strategy and cybersecurity at Nordic, says the effort will help keep rural health services safe while supporting innovation.

“By combining our expertise and services with Microsoft technology and resources and CHIME’s industry voice, we’re shaping the future of rural healthcare to better serve patients no matter how resource limited or physically distant the health system may be,” Griffin said in a statement.

The effort will conduct member meetings to gather insights on the health needs of rural America, while also focusing on their vulnerability to technology-related threats. The announcement notes cyberattacks against health care systems are happening more often, and the initiative’s first program will seek to help rural hospitals with limited resources address these threats.

See more in the release.

Top headlines from the Health Care Report…

— The Medical College of Wisconsin has announced Dr. Joseph Kerschner will step down from various executive leadership roles at the end of this year and return to a full-time faculty position.

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TOPICS

AGRIBUSINESS

– Bugging the bugs: UW-Madison entomologist invents ‘insect eavesdropper’ to spy on pests

CONSTRUCTION

– Wisconsin gets a C+ on its infrastructure score card

– Ugo Nwagbaraocha elected vice president of NAMC

ECONOMY

– Wisconsin receives average marks on latest infrastructure report card

EDUCATION