WASHINGTON—U.S. industrial production fell 0.6 percent in January, stemming in large part from an 8.8 percent plunge in the making of motor vehicles and auto parts.

RENO, NV—Boeing is to provide engineering, manufacturing and flight test resources to supersonic-aircraft developer Aerion to help the startup bring its business AS2 jet to market by 2023.

GREENBELT, MD—Technologist Mahmooda Sultana and her team at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center here have received a $2 million development award to spend the next two years advancing a nanomaterial-based detector platform. This platform measures only 2 by 3 inches, yet is capable of sensing minute concentrations of gases,vapor, atmospheric pressure and temperature, and then transmitting the data via a wireless antenna.

ANN ARBOR, MI—Engineers at the University of Michigan have developed a new light-based additive manufacturing process that is up to 100 times faster than conventional 3D printing techniques.

PARMA, Italy—A team of engineers here have harnessed new photonics technology to develop the world's first fluid-repellent, antibacterial, metal surface.

PALERMO, Italy—The world's first 3D-printed sailboat was recently unveiled here. It was designed and produced by OCore, a start-up company dedicated to harnessing new manufacturing technologies.

HIROSHIMA, Japan—Engineers at Mazda Motor Corp. here have developed the world's first cold-stamped vehicle body parts made from 1,310-megapascal (MPa) high-strength steel.

AUBURN HILLS, MI—FCA US LLC recently installed intelligent lighting systems at several of its plants in the Detroit area. The smart LEDs are expected to help drive down energy costs by at least 50 percent and improve employee productivity.

SANFORD, NC—Federal agents detained at least 30 people during a raid at a firearms assembly plant here last week, an event that led to the arrests of 27 people.

FLINT, MI—General Motors Co. will add 1,000 workers to build new heavy-duty pickup trucks at its assembly plant here. Priority will be given to GM workers who were laid off elsewhere.