MI2 News and Updates

The Metals Innovation Initiative (MI2), a Kentucky-based nonprofit dedicated to advancing the state’s metals industry, is pleased to announce the appointment of Bob Eviston as the new Chairman of the Board. Eviston brings over three decades of industry experience and a deep commitment to innovation and sustainability in metals manufacturing.

The Metals Innovation Initiative (MI2), a Kentucky-based nonprofit dedicated to advancing the state’s metals industry, is pleased to announce the appointment of Bob Eviston as the new Chairman of the Board. Eviston brings over three decades of industry experience and a deep commitment to innovation and sustainability in metals manufacturing.

He led Russellville’s Logan Aluminum through a period of rapid growth, now Mike Buckentin aims to do the same for the fledgling Bowling Green-based nonprofit Metals Innovation Initiative (MI2). Buckentin, Logan Aluminum’s CEO for seven years before his retirement in October 2024, has been named CEO of the MI2 organization that was formed in 2022 with a mission of promoting Kentucky as a destination for innovation in the metals industry. Read more at the link above.

The Metals Innovation Initiative is shaking up its leadership team after two years of growth. Read the full article on Louisville Business First at the link above.

MI2’s CIO, Vijay Kamineni, was named to The Kentucky Association of Manufacturers (KAM) “Blue-Ribbon Commission on Kentucky’s Contributions to America’s Critical Industrial Base” to develop recommendations on how Kentucky can more directly contribute to America’s industrial growth in critical economic sectors, with a primary focus on the nation’s defense industrial base.

The American-Made Community Energy Innovation Prize is multi-million-dollar prize competition designed to create opportunity for college students, manufacturing coalitions, and community organizations to engage underserved communities to ensure an equitable clean energy transition.