Innovation Centers in Middle Georgia

INNOVATION CENTERS IN MIDDLE GEORGIA

Middle Georgia is fortunate to have a significant concentration of Innovation Centers relating to the Universities and Robins Air Force Base (RAFB).

Mercer Engineering Research Center (MERC) has been a proven asset to Middle Georgia’s companies since 1985. MERC delivers unmatched interdisciplinary engineering and applied scientific expertise with 160 full time engineers, scientists, analysts, logisticians and management experts. MERC has provided support and expertise to all arms of the military, particularly the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex. MERC has also completed successful projects with Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Gulfstream and Raytheon.

Advanced Technology and Training Center – Middle Georgia serves the needs of the Warner Robins Air Force Base and local employers. The Air Force opened the Advanced Technology and Training Center in Warner Robins in 2018 as a place to train on and test new technologies without interrupting actual aircraft maintenance production.

The Mercer Innovation Center offers the education, community, office space, tools, mentors, student interns, and access to investors that can take an idea from conception to market.

Working with organizations such as the Advanced Technology Development Center and the Atlanta Technology Village, the Mercer Innovation Center contributes to making Georgia one of the leading start-up centers in the United States.

Blue Sky Lab is a Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex software laboratory. It aims to create a space for ingenuity by networking with community and educational leaders in Computer Science and Engineering. The innovative software development started in early 2020. The venture is a collaborative effort of WR-ALC and Mercer University, in conjunction with the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority, Macon-Bibb County consolidated government, the Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority and NewTown Macon.

The Synergy Innovation Center is a collaborative setting fashioned like a modern, Silicon Valley-style software lab. It is a free environment for tech-savvy pros to innovate and create. The center addresses those elements key to the present and future requirements of the software missions for Robins Air Force Base while also creating an atmosphere made for creativity, and the education of young people.

The Center for Software Innovation is a partnership between Middle Georgia State University (MGA) and Robins Air Force Base (RAFB). The Center is designed to identify software development projects that will elevate regional companies, nonprofits, startups, and other organizations. The Center is housed at the University’s Warner Robins Campus in Thomas Hall where the School of Computing facilities serve as the Center’s base of operations.Through continuing education courses and special training sessions participants will collaborate on software solutions and return to their employers, classes, and organizations to address specific challenges.

The FABLab community is simultaneously a manufacturing network, a distributive technical education campus, and a distributive research laboratory working to digitize fabrication, inventing the next generation of manufacturing and fabrication. The FABLab network is an open, creative community of fabricators, scientists, engineers, educators, students, amateurs, and professionals of all ages. It is also a place for launching entrepreneurs. The FABLab is co-located with the Houston County High School College and Career Academy. In partnership, high school students utilize the lab during class hours and the lab is open to the general public in the evenings.

SparkMacon is makerspace serving as a catalyst for freelancers, startups and entrepreneurs, connecting, empowering and supporting them to build a stronger economy and community. Designed to be a collaborative workspace for a wide range of creatives, SparkMacon meets every stage of entrepreneurship, from ideation to prototyping to manufacturing, by providing an adaptable space for innovation, in-house support, as well as connections to local resources.

Robins Spark Innovation hub provides Airmen an innovation ecosystem through networking and collaboration with other DoD organizations, industry, and academia.