Tennessee Tech receives more than $400,000 grant to expand metal casting workforce training

Tennessee Tech University has received a $434,204 grant through the Metallurgical Engineering Trades Apprenticeship & Learning (METAL) program, led by IACMI - The Composites Institute, to expand hands-on metal casting education and workforce training opportunities for students, educators and industry professionals.

The grant will support a new phase of programming through Tech's Center for Manufacturing Research, including metal casting bootcamps, workshops, outreach activities and industry partnerships designed to meet regional manufacturing workforce needs. The initiative is led at Tech by Vivekanand Naikwadi, assistant professor of Manufacturing and Industrial Systems Engineering and Foundry Educational Foundation (FEF) Key Professor, with Ayantha Senanayaka serving as co-principal investigator.

The first of two free metal casting bootcamps this fall will begin Oct. 24 and continue over four weekend sessions. Additional sessions will be held Nov. 14, 15, 21 and 22. Organizers are encouraging participation from university students, working professionals and members of the public interested in exploring careers in modern manufacturing.

Participants will receive expert-led instruction covering the fundamentals of casting, forging and computer-aided design (CAD), along with pattern making, tooling and design techniques, quality control, heat treatment and metal testing. The program includes eight hours of online instruction and 32 hours of hands-on training at Tech.

“I see this grant as an investment in people as much as in manufacturing,” said Naikwadi. “When students make a mold, pour a casting and evaluate the result, they begin to understand why careful design, process control and safety matter. Our bootcamps can give participants that experience and help them see a future for themselves in metal manufacturing.”

The award builds on the success of Tech's existing METAL Hub activities. In 2025, weeklong bootcamps served 61 participants, and the university has conducted workshops and K-12 outreach efforts that introduce students to casting and manufacturing concepts. Under the new grant, the university plans to offer 12 bootcamps over the next two years while reaching nearly 400 students through community college and K-12 partnerships. Participants who complete the training will earn industry-recognized certification.

“The METAL program gives us a way to bring Tech's foundry resources to a broader community,” said Naikwadi. “We want students and working professionals to leave with practical skills, a clearer view of modern casting and connections that help them take the next step in education or employment.”

Tech is one of less than two dozen active university foundries in the nation and is a certified Foundry Educational Foundation university. Its foundry, which has operated since the 1930s, is slated for a new home inside the university's Advanced Construction and Manufacturing Engineering (ACME) Building, scheduled for completion in fall 2028. The expanded facility will nearly double the size of the current foundry while adding capabilities in advanced manufacturing and construction, industrial robotics, mechatronics, machine learning and cyber-physical systems.