[lbi_inline_note timestamp=”4:28pm on May 18, 2015″]Use iStock No. 2649369 if needed.[/lbi_inline_note]
Manufacturing money
LSU’s College of Engineering is spearheading an effort to get special federal recognition for south Louisiana’s chemical corridor—a designation, that, if granted, would enable the area to compete for a share of $1.3 billion a year in federal economic development dollars. The program for which Louisiana is competing is called the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership, and it’s an initiative created by President Barack Obama’s administration to stimulate manufacturing in the U.S. Last year, the program designated 12 IMCP communities, which have since been given elevated consideration for federal grants and assistance from more than a dozen federal agencies. This year, 12 more communities will be selected to participate, and Jonathan Shi, a professor in the construction management department in the LSU College of Engineering, hopes south Louisiana will be one of them. “This would open up a lot of funding opportunities,” Shi says. More than 80 local partners, including industry associations, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, and companies like Turner Industries, Cajun Industries and Motiva, are backing the effort and have formed the South Louisiana Chemical Manufacturing Community Consortium.
—Stephanie Riegel
