SME’s 10th Annual Blue Sky Competition Seeks Radical New Ideas for Manufacturing

SOUTHFIELD, MI, UNITED STATES, October 13, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — SME has opened submissions for the 2027 Blue Sky Competition, launching the tenth year of the signature national contest to identify bold new manufacturing concepts and connect them to the expertise and capital that can turn them into real-world solutions.

“For a decade, the Blue Sky Competition has been a leading incubator for game-changing innovations that are transforming how we build what we need to live and work and ensure a more vibrant and sustainable economic future,” said Brett Conner, SME Chief Manufacturing Officer. “As we mark this milestone year for Blue Sky, now more than ever we need radical, even outrageous, ideas to supercharge our most critical industries and supply chains.”

“Most of all, the future of manufacturing demands a new generation of pioneering researchers, scientists, engineers, and educators to get us there,” Conner added. “Time and again Blue Sky has energized some of our best and brightest and we are excited to see what they come up with next.”

SME has been leading the way in the adoption of technologies such as artificial intelligence, automation, and additive manufacturing, while helping develop the talent needed to fully realize their potential. Through initiatives like the Blue Sky Competition, SME is elevating the ideas, innovators, and breakthroughs that will shape the manufacturing competitiveness, resilience, and economic growth for decades to come.

SME started the Blue Sky Competition in 2017 to surface some of the most visionary concepts with the highest potential to revolutionize manufacturing once matched with public or private capital and other partners.

The competition now has a decade-long record of propelling a range of promising new ideas and positioning them to be scaled up.

The winner of the 2026 competition was a conceptual framework from a team of researchers to use molecular information to program and shape the physical structure and properties of materials, rather than via traditional methods such as force, heat, tools, and molds.

Some of the previous contest winners have included early blueprints for building automated factories in space, bio-printing human tissue in the operating room, and leveraging additive manufacturing techniques to enhance food production.

Submissions to the contest are judged by experts from industry, academia, and government who assess their scope, interdisciplinary nature, and potential for wider application in U.S. manufacturing and education.

The deadline for submissions is February 15, 2027. Finalists will present their concepts on May 4, 2027, in Washington, D.C., and the winner will receive the SME David Dornfeld Manufacturing Vision Award at the SME Fall Gala in October 2027.

“As we mark Blue Sky’s 10th year, SME is more committed than ever to working with our communities, companies, schools, and federal, state, and local leaders to catalyze America’s manufacturing renaissance,” said Conner. “Blue Sky embodies the limitless opportunities for building a better tomorrow.”

About SME
Established in 1932 as a nonprofit organization, SME represents the entire North American manufacturing industry, including manufacturers, academia, professionals, students, and the communities in which they operate. We believe manufacturing holds the key to economic growth and prosperity, and champion the industry’s potential as a diverse, thriving, and valued ecosystem. SME accelerates new technology adoption and builds North America’s talent and capabilities to advance manufacturing and drive competitiveness, resiliency, and national security. SME designs new ways to understand and solve problems, and our solutions advance the next wave of growth in manufacturing. Learn more at SME.org.

Brie Smith
SME
+1 2487981995

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