STARKVILLE – Metal alloy and composite material production in the Golden Triangle is about to be more effective thanks to a recent wave of state grants.
Mississippi State University received more than $1.4 million in grants, which were part of more than $100 million in state funding awarded to benefit Mississippi’s economic development, Gov. Tate Reeves said in a Dec. 11 press release.
An $800,000 grant will go toward funding a new HighVac Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope for MSU’s Institute for Imaging and Analytical Technologies (I2AT), replacing outdated equipment. Under the microscope, an alloy’s properties can be analyzed to determine ways to improve its strength, resistance to corrosion or heat resistance during the production process.
The new electron microscope will give I2AT the capabilities to more effectively analyze the makeup of metal alloys produced in the region, Director Tonia Lane said.
“Metal alloys, they have microstructure,” Lane said. “And most of the metals you look at, they’re smooth until you get them under the microscope. They actually have almost a geography to them. But inside the metal, they have these microstructures that influence how they behave in the real world. … All that’s influenced by the chemical composition, and the microstructure.”
Meryl Fisackerly, chief operating officer for the Golden Triangle Development LINK, said the new microscope will benefit large producers in the region, like Steel Dynamics and Aluminum Dynamics.
“Anything that can be used for them … to help make their process either more streamlined, more efficient or just a better product in general for the market is good for them, which is in turn, good for our area,” Fisackerly said.
For most metal producers, it’s not worth keeping an electron microscope on site because of the potential for damage to the expensive piece of equipment, Lane said.
Area producers, like SDI, instead bring alloys to I2AT’s facilities to be analyzed with the microscope. Lane said images of the material’s chemical and molecular makeup then help determine ways to improve the quality during the production process, like changing the composition to improve heat resistance, for example.
“If it’s not performing the way it needs to perform, they might want to look at it,” Lane said. “… They could come to us and say, ‘We need to develop a product that has stronger corrosion resistance,’ for example. And so this instrument would help (us) facilitate that.”
Currently the facility sees about 10 manufacturers regularly, including SDI, Aluminum Dynamics LLC, and Paccar Inc., which bring alloys to the institute’s three electron microscopes, Lane said. With the new improved microscope, Lane said, that number is likely to grow.
Lane said the expectation is that the microscope will be added to the facility at some point in 2026.
ACI grant
An additional $647,500 will cover improvements to the Advanced Composites Institute facilities at MSU to better train workers for Department of Defense-compliant manufacturing and make the institute more competitive for DOD grants, the press release said.
The ACI grant will add office spaces, improve physical security with a new badging and camera system and improve cybersecurity at ACI’s facilities, Director Christopher Bounds, wrote in an email to The Dispatch.
ACI’s current facilities, which were built out of a 1960s aircraft hangar, do not have the necessary cybersecurity and production components to be competitive for DOD grants, Bounds said.
“DOD-compliant manufacturing requires secure systems, controlled environments, and strict data-handling practices that differ significantly from standard manufacturing,” Bounds said. “These upgrades allow us to operate in that environment every day, … ensuring students and workers train under conditions that mirror real defense manufacturing operations.”
The hope is that grant-funded upgrades will be the first of several modernization efforts at the facility as other grants become available in the future, Bounds said. Most upgrades will be complete by 2026, he said.
“This investment supports a phased, long-term modernization strategy for ACI,” Bounds said. “While it will not address every infrastructure need at once, it allows us to make meaningful progress now while positioning us to pursue additional funding to complete future phases.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
