DANVILLE, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2025--
Leaders from across the defense and manufacturing sectors came together in Danville, Virginia, for the fourth annual joint summit hosted by the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program and the U.S. Navy’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE). Held at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR), this year’s event, themed All Hands on Deck, focused on addressing workforce and manufacturing shortfalls in Navy shipbuilding and repair.
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Business partners attending the 2025 ATDM and AM CoE Summit.
Telly Tucker, president at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, addresses attendees at the ATDM and AM CoE Summit.
Admiral Jim Kilby, Acting Chief Naval Officer, addresses business and military partners at ATDM and AM CoE Summit.
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One of the summit highlights was a keynote address from Admiral James Kilby, USN, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, who spoke to the deep investment the Navy is making in workforce development and innovation as the pillars of our maritime strength.
“This Summit extends far beyond a two-day gathering—it's strengthening America's maritime industrial foundation,” said Matthew Sermon, direct reporting program manager for the Maritime Industrial Base. “With over 450 participants sharing insights and solutions, the ATDM Maritime Training Center is creating a pipeline of skilled workers, while the Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence is revolutionizing how we produce critical components, reducing production timelines from years or months to weeks or days. Both are gamechangers….and together, these complementary initiatives address both the human talent and technological capabilities needed to build and sustain the fleet our nation requires.”
The summit highlighted the growth and momentum of the ATDM program. Earlier this year, the new 100,000-square-foot ATDM Maritime Training Center opened at the IALR campus, expanding the program’s capacity to train more students in its 16-week accelerated program. The ATDM Maritime Training Center provides the space needed for the program to graduate up to 1,000 students per year to meet industry demand, a target it is on track to achieve.
“At IALR, we’re pioneering new accelerated training methods while building the future workforce for defense and maritime manufacturing,” said Telly Tucker, president of IALR. “The new ATDM Maritime Training Center is a vital step in growing the talent pipeline, and by hosting the Navy’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence on our campus, we’re integrating emerging technologies directly into the hands-on training process. This model ensures our graduates are equipped to meet challenges in shipbuilding and advanced manufacturing.”
Alongside workforce training, the co-located AM CoE continues to push the boundaries of additive manufacturing for Navy applications. The center is actively reducing production timelines for complex parts and exploring how advanced processes can support both new builds and fleet sustainment. The AM CoE is also providing connective tissue for ATDM students as they gain experience in additive manufacturing.
Throughout the summit, attendees heard from defense contractors, technical experts and government officials about the real-world impact of programs like ATDM and AM CoE. Representatives from major shipbuilders and supply chain companies discussed how the ability to hire ATDM graduates has shortened ramp-up times and helped meet production schedules.
The summit wrapped up with a clear sense of shared purpose and momentum. By combining accelerated training with cutting-edge innovation, ATDM and AM CoE are shaping a model for how public-private collaboration can secure the future of U.S. maritime power.
About ATDM
Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) was created to teach the skills needed to increase military equipment production in the United States. The program is located at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville, Virginia. Students at ATDM are trained in the skills needed to repair, upfit and build submarines, and these skills are transferable to other defense industry companies. Students earn the skills needed to secure great-paying, in-demand defense industry jobs in these skilled trades: additive manufacturing, CNC machining, non-destructive testing, quality control inspection (also known as metrology) and welding. For additional information, visit https://atdm.org/.
About IALR
The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research serves Virginia as a regional catalyst for economic transformation through applied research, advanced learning, manufacturing advancement, conference center services, and economic development efforts. IALR’s major footprint focuses within Southern Virginia, including the counties of Patrick, Henry, Franklin, Pittsylvania, Halifax and Mecklenburg, along with the cities of Martinsville and Danville. For more information, visit www.ialr.org.
Business partners attending the 2025 ATDM and AM CoE Summit.
Telly Tucker, president at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, addresses attendees at the ATDM and AM CoE Summit.
Admiral Jim Kilby, Acting Chief Naval Officer, addresses business and military partners at ATDM and AM CoE Summit.
It was at a relatively minor event in upstate New York in September 2022 that Ilia Malinin, the self-anointed “Quad God" who was fast becoming the biggest name in figure skating, finally landed the jump that so many people had thought impossible.
Others had tried quad axels in competition over the years. All of them had fallen. That extra 180 degrees of rotation — necessary for the only jump in skating that starts with a forward-facing entry — proved to be a half-revolution too much.
So when Malinin landed it inside the arena made famous by the U.S. hockey team's upset of the Soviets at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, it not only sent shockwaves through the tight-knit skating community but made headlines around the world.
“My mind was just blown,” said two-time Olympic skater Jason Brown.
Yet by conquering the gravity-defying jump, Malinin also raised an important question: What comes next?
The six main jumps in figure skating have been standard since the early 1900s. The only difference between then and now is the number of revolutions. Dick Button landed the first double axel in 1948, and the first triple jump four years later. Kurt Browning landed the first quad, a toe loop, in 1988, and it was 10 years before Timothy Goebel landed the first quad salchow.
By landing the quad axel, Malinin may have maxed out the boundaries of human performance. Most sports scientists agree that the speed and amplitude necessary for five-revolution jumps truly is impossible, leaving figure skating at a crossroads, where a dearth of innovation threatens to take the shine off a sport already fighting to maintain popularity.
“I think it's kind of natural that we were going to get to this point,” said Malinin, the overwhelming favorite to win gold for the U.S. at the Milan Cortina Olympics. "But I haven't reached my top, whether it's in the technical and how much I can jump and spin, but also in the creativity.”
Malinin, 20, points to his signature “raspberry twist,” a somersaulting spin unlike anything that anybody else does. He created it himself, and it tends to bring down the house whenever he throws it down near the end of his programs.
Yet the flashy maneuver also underscores one of the inherent problems with trying to be creative: It doesn't get rewarded.
The International Skating Union has rigid requirements for both short programs and free skates, and it rarely pays off to deviate too far from the script. Malinin might not get a lot of extra points for landing his raspberry twist, for example, since it is not one of the six standard figure skating jumps, but a failure to land it could cost him dearly.
“Absolutely, there are a lot of things I've wanted to try,” Malinin told The Associated Press, “because I think it would be really cool and appealing. But it's a bigger risk for the program itself, and the system and scoring means it doesn't make sense.”
In other words, what's the point in trying to innovate?
“There are so many rules in your programs that you don't have too much wiggle room,” said Alysa Liu, the reigning world champion. “A lot of these rules really restrict us. Like, all of our spins look the same now, but they could look so different."
“One of my training mates, Sonja Himler, does these incredible programs," added Amber Glenn, a three-time U.S. champion, and along with Liu one of the favorites to win Olympic gold for the American team in February.
“Like, she spins the other way, jumps the other way — really cool things that, you know, someone who's watched a little bit of skating will be like, ‘Oh, I’ve never seen that before,'” Glenn said. “Whereas if I go and do, you know, the norm, and do it well, versus what she does, my scores will be better, even though what she does is way more impressive, in my opinion.”
Justin Dillon, the manager of high performance at U.S. Figure Skating, acknowledged having had hard conversations with some skaters about their programs. They may have planned something unique or interesting, but the risk wouldn't be worth the reward.
“I encourage individuality, and bringing it to the ice,” Dillon said, “but if they do something so avant-garde that it doesn't check those boxes, then it really doesn't serve them. It doesn't always mean throw it out, but what can we do to make it a home run?”
To its credit, figure skating's governing body has loosened some restrictions in recent years. The backflip, which was long banned in competition because of its inherent danger, is allowed now, though it also doesn't carry a whole lot of scoring weight.
Is that hold-your-breath element of risk and uncertainty the next big step in skating?
“I mean, you're cringing. It legit scares me," Glenn said of the backflip. “If you can do it, great. I think it's so fun. I want to learn it once I'm done competing. But the thought of practicing it in like, a warmup or in training, it just scares me.”
Brown has never been able to consistently land quad jumps in competition. Instead, he relies on near-perfect execution of triple jumps, along with arguably the best artistry in figure skating, to consistently challenge for podium placements in major competitions.
Maybe, Brown mused, the next innovation in figure skating has nothing to do with extreme feats of athletic ability.
“I have so much respect for the ways in which people are pushing the sport technically,” he said, "but I think the more that people fixate on executing an element, the less risk people take artistically, because they’re already taking these risks technically. And it is very hard to do both. So maybe the next step for figure skating is to reward the story we're trying to tell."
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Amber Glenn skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Amber Glenn skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Ilia Malinin skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Ilia Malinin competes during the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Ilia Malinin competes during the men's short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
