Welcome to the September Issue of Advanced Ceramics Insights

A message from Executive Director Ken Wetzel:

Welcome back to our monthly briefing where we bring you the latest in association activities, key events, and budget and policy developments in Washington and beyond that are impacting our industry.

As we enter the final quarter of the year, trends are converging that deserve the attention of our industry. Congress will soon return to shaping the fiscal year 2027 funding priorities, federal agencies are bracing for the continuing resolution that will keep the government open but place constraints on their spending flexibility as the new fiscal year gets underway Oct. 1, and as policymakers continue to prioritize strengthening domestic manufacturing capacity and supply chain resilience.

A major focus this month is planning for USACA’s Fall Technical Meeting, which is just around the corner.

We are looking forward to convening the association’s growing membership to discuss a range of policy and funding opportunities for the advanced ceramics community and to sharpen our advocacy agenda for the remainer of 2026 and 2027.

The meeting, scheduled for Oct. 14-15, 2026, in Greenville, South Carolina, will also convene our working groups and offer a series of industry and government presentations. 

A special thanks to our hosts at Lucideon, the materials science consultancy, which will also open its facility for tours. 

Read more about Lucidion in the USACA Spotlight section here. 

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

‘TOP-NOTCH’: USACA member Bullen Ultrasonics’ Miller Williams Facility in Eaton, Ohio, received a Best Plants Award by Industry Week for demonstrating a “unified commitment to product quality, worker safety, and top-notch customer service that sets them apart from their peers.”

Tim Beatty, president of the leader in precision machining for advanced ceramics, called the recognition “an extraordinary honor for our entire team.”

"This recognition reflects much more than any single technology, process improvement or performance metric,” he said. “It reflects what happens when talented people are empowered to challenge assumptions, solve difficult problems, and continually find better ways to serve our customers. Most importantly, it recognizes the culture and teamwork behind those results." 

Plus: Bullen Ultrasonics receives $23,100 grant for AI-driven manufacturing project

ENERGY

‘A CORE PART’: USACA has a unique role to play in helping inform government officials about the challenges in scaling up the materials, supply chains, and workforce needed to meet the renaissance in advanced nuclear energy – and proposing the policies and investments needed to close critical gaps.

Dr. Aisha Haynes, USACA’s Technical Director, is leading an effort by the association’s Nuclear Materials Working Group to develop “a practical federal agenda” to address supply chain constraints and industrial base challenges. That includes identifying where ceramics play an expanded role and recommending actions to strengthen the U.S. supply chain before projects move into full production.

‘Central Risk’: “Demand is increasing across utilities, data centers, industrial users, military installations, transportable systems, and space power,” said Haynes. “Federal policy is pushing for more domestic nuclear capacity, faster deployment, a stronger fuel cycle, and new national-security and space nuclear systems. The central risk is that reactor demand may grow faster than the qualified materials, components, suppliers, and workforce needed to deliver projects on schedule.”

“Ceramics,” she added, “should be treated as a core part of the nuclear industrial base, not a small specialty category.”



The flurry of investment and activity in the nuclear energy sector continues to pick up pace. The Army recently selected five companies to build nuclear microreactors on bases in a $2 billion deal. The Navy announced plans to install an advanced nuclear Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) at Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Crane in Indiana by the fall of 2028. Meanwhile, startups are increasingly getting into the nuclear energy game and raising historic sums.

DEFENSE

‘DISRUPTIVE CAPABILITIES’: The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will preview a new hypersonic cruise missile development effort at an industry day on Sept. 22.

The Next Generation Hypersonic Cruise Missile (NGHCM) program aims to “design, build and flight-test a fully integrated system demonstrator that delivers what DARPA calls significant leaps in operational range, cruise speed and altitude,” according to InsideDefense.com.

The big picture: “While prior technology demonstration programs have successfully proven the fundamental viability of scramjet-powered flight to counter the evolving threat landscape, existing concepts often achieve predictable, incremental gains in isolated performance metrics, representing evolutionary improvements rather than the disruptive capabilities required for future conflict,” according to the Request for Information.

“Furthermore,” it added, “legacy manufacturing processes often result in systems that are too expensive and complex to produce at the scale required for peer conflict.”

More defense news: Department Of War Announces $174 Million Investment To Secure Gallium Supply Chain

And: With reconciliation uncertain, Pentagon eyeing plan to retool FY27 priorities with Congress

Plus: Military funding, AI and more: Congress returns for short stint before bolting again

EVENTS

GAINING LIFT: USACA will be participating in the Defense Patent Holiday pilot event focused on advanced materials that will be hosted later this month by LIFT in Detroit, one of the Manufacturing USA institutes.

Wetzel and Haynes will be on hand Sept. 23 for the launch of a pilot program offering a no-fee license for patents developed with government funding to accelerate the commercialization of breakthrough materials.

The event builds on the rollout earlier this year of a broader patent holiday initiative by the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering and TechLink, which are making available to private industry some 400 federally developed breakthrough technologies.

The LIFT Institute is the government-backed accelerator "connecting advanced materials, manufacturing processes, systems engineering and talent development, enhancing America’s manufacturing competitiveness, national economy and security."

Reducing risk: Haynes also participated in the High Energy Laser (HEL) Optics Metrology Workshop at UNC Charlotte in August, where she presented an overview of USACA, its relevance to the HEL community, and opportunities for the two communities to work together.

Haynes highlighted how USACA can connect HEL technical priorities with advanced ceramics suppliers, manufacturers, testing organizations, and integrators to address materials, metrology, qualification, and industrial base challenges.

“If we can connect the people who understand the measurement problem with the people who control the material and manufacturing processes, we can reduce transition risk and strengthen the domestic capability behind HEL systems,” commented Haynes.

Senior defense officials encouraged workshop participants to engage and partner with USACA to help close critical industrial-base gaps for Directed Energy technologies.

Mark your calendars: It is not too soon to start planning for the annual Composites, Materials and Structures (CMS), which USACA will co-sponsor in New Orleans from March 29 to April 2, 2026.



Learn more.

MEMBER NEWS

Saint-Gobain appoints Annica Hagen as Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer and accelerates AI deployment

Kairos Power Announces New Collaboration to Advance Nuclear Manufacturing, Construction, and Workforce Development in East Tennessee



Canopy Aerospace & Defense Acquires Aviotec

READING ROOM 

ARPA-E Plays Unique and Valuable Role in Energy Innovation and Should Be Reliably Funded, Says New Report



Deputy Secretary of War Directs Actions to Foster One Strong Industrial Base

Have news to share with the USACA membership? We want to hear from you! Email Bryan Bender at bender@strategicmi.com or LB Fullerton at LB@strategicmi.com. And follow USACA on LinkedIn. 

Please Contact Us With Any Questions:

Ken Wetzel, ken@strategicmi.com

Aisha Haynes, aisha@strategicmi.com

LB Fullerton, lb@strategicmi.com