MI2 News and Updates

Newly elected as KAM directors…Vijay Kamineni, CEO, Metals Innovation Initiative (MI2), Bowling Green, and Chief Innovation & Technology Leader, Logan Aluminum in Russellville. Kamineni is CEO of the Metals Innovation Initiative (MI2), a Kentucky-focused nonprofit with the mission to bring Kentucky together to make the state the destination for metals innovation.

The Metals Innovation Initiative (MI2) hosted their inaugural MI2 Annual Conference, focused this year on “Factory of the Future” in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 5-6. The conference was well-attended by University of Kentucky (UK) faculty and staff, including members of UK Innovate. The “Factory of the Future” was built around the Smart Factory concept.

The Metals Innovation Initiative (MI2) officially launched in September 2022, bringing together a consortium of metals industry leaders to make Kentucky the preeminent destination for metals innovation. KSTC was a founding partner in MI2.

Since graduating in May, she chose to stay close to home and works as a contractor for Metals Innovation Initiative (MI2) at the WKU Innovation Campus. Whittle also provides her services to Oria Health, a telehealth mental health care organization; Lunae LLC, a strategic management company and Gambit, a political mapping app for optimized campaign practices.

Madison Whittle was the first Western Kentucky University graduate whose degree read “user experience.” Whittle graduated in May and, with some help from her “Civic Imagination Team,” used her skills to put together Muser — an app that tracks willing museum attendees to map how they move about exhibits…She works as a freelance website designer and as a user experience designer at Metals Innovation Initiative at WKU’s Innovation Campus.

A Kentucky nonprofit is trying to attract new talent to the metals industry. The “Metals Innovation Initiative,” also known as MI2, held an annual conference at the Louisville Marriott East in Jeffersontown.