Despite rumors to the contrary, manufacturing is not dead in Michigan. It’s just not solely in automotive anymore. That is among the conclusions reached in an 87-page report released today by the University Research Corridor, a partnership launched four years ago by the state’s three major research universities.
The report says that more than 381,000 people at 11,000 Michigan firms are working in high-tech, advanced manufacturing jobs—nearly two-thirds of the state’s manufacturing base. Given that it’s a study commissioned by the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University, it’s not surprising that the document credits the universities for creating what it calls “research manufacturing” jobs, or those that create or improve pharmaceuticals, chemicals, sensors, circuits, and robotics.
The report was released during a daylong media tour of all three universities, including visits to Wayne State’s Smart Sensors and Integrated Microsystems Lab in Detroit, MSU’s National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory in East Lansing, MI, and U-M’s new North Campus Research Complex in Ann Arbor, MI, home to an advanced manufacturing complex and 2 million square feet of research space.
