It’s not unusual to find alternative lifestyle activities on or around college campuses. But, at Georgia’s Kennesaw State University, the word “alternative” refers to new types of energy systems.

Carbon-fiber composites offer a variety of advantages for car and truck manufacturers, including lighter weight, better corrosion resistance and higher impact strength than aluminum and steel.

Denver is called the Mile High City because of its location in the Rocky Mountains. But, a local college is poised to soar to even new heights because of aerospace manufacturing.

Students and faculty at the Maryland Robotics Center are developing a new generation of machines that are friendlier to small manufacturers.

Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are studying how robots and humans can work closer together on assembly lines.

The Detroit area is home to hundreds of manufacturing plants. One of the newest is the Operations Leadership Factory in Ann Arbor, MI.

Projects focus on automation, robotics and aircraft assembly.

Some day in the near future, an on-campus innovation center could be as ubiquitous to college life as a library, a student union or a football stadium.

Engineers are integrating thin, flexible electronics and sensors into belts, glasses, headgear, jewelry, shirts, shoes, watches and a wide variety of other products.

Alabama is home to state-of-the-art auto plants operated by Daimler, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota. It’s also home to a state-of-the-art assembly line that builds toy cars out of Lego blocks: Tiger Motors.