UTEP Celebrates Opening of Advanced Manufacturing and Aerospace Center
New facility will advance research, engineering innovation and STEM workforce
EL PASO, Texas (April 11, 2025) – Moon habitation, space robotics and exotic-material 3D printing are just a few of the technologies that will be developed in the Advanced Manufacturing and Aerospace Center (AMAC), a new $80 million research and education facility opened today at The University of Texas at El Paso.
The AMAC building was dedicated at a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by more than 300, including El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson, El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego, The University of Texas System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin P. Eltife and UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken. Eltife and Milliken were scheduled to attend in person, but due to mechanical issues on their flight, they delivered their remarks via live video stream.
“In the 29 laboratories housed in this building, our faculty and students will advance discovery and drive innovation that contributes to our national defense and economic growth,” said UTEP President Heather Wilson. “We are grateful for the investment from UT System and the Board of Regents in the future of our students and our community.”
“The Board of Regents and the whole UT System are deeply committed to the success of UTEP,” Eltife said. “AMAC is just one of the many long-term investments we have made in UTEP and in El Paso, and we look forward to continuing this strong support.”
“UTEP is a national leader in aerospace engineering and advanced manufacturing,” Milliken said. “This new building is just a small part of UT System’s commitment to UTEP excellence and growing El Paso’s role in both the advanced manufacturing and aerospace industries.”
“UTEP is a critical partner in providing both the research innovation and top-tier engineering workforce needed to grow El Paso’s economic frontiers,” Johnson said. “The AMAC further solidifies El Paso’s emerging leadership in advanced manufacturing and bolsters the region as a significant aerospace hub.”
The AMAC building will house UTEP’s Aerospace Center and the W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation, both part of UTEP’s College of Engineering.
The Keck Center contains one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of additive manufacturing equipment in an academic setting, with more than 70 state-of-the-art advanced 3D printers. The Keck Center has ongoing research and development projects with more than 100 industry partners and 10 federal agencies, including the Army and Air Force Research Labs, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin.
The Aerospace Center has conducted pioneering research with NASA, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy and other agencies in areas like propulsion, unmanned aerial vehicles, spacecraft design and the fusion of artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced materials science to accelerate discoveries for space, defense and industry.
Through a focus on undergraduate research, many UTEP students trained at the Keck and Aerospace Centers have gone on to successful careers at leading companies like Boeing, Blue Origin and SpaceX.
The AMAC building was funded by the UT System Board of Regents and construction began with a groundbreaking ceremony in the fall of 2022. The Bhutanese-style building was designed by architectural firm Treanor and built by Sundt Construction in collaboration with UTEP’s Planning and Construction Department. Fifty UTEP alumni were among the more than 1,000 people involved in the construction effort.
About The University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of our 25,000 students are Hispanic, and more than half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 171 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Nadia Whitehead
Assistant Vice President, Media Relations
915-276-6803
news@utep.edu
Victor H. Arreola
Assistant Director of Media Relations
915-747-6437
news@utep.edu
Last Updated on April 11, 2025 at 12:00 AM | Originally published April 11, 2025
By MC Staff UTEP Marketing and Communications
