The following was written by Kirk White, vice provost for external relations at IU Bloomington and assistant vice president at the IU Office of the Vice President for Government Relations and Economic Engagement.

U.S. Rep. Jim Banks hosted the inaugural Northeast Indiana Defense Summit yesterday, April 11, in Fort Wayne, Ind. Doug Wasitis, IU associate vice president for federal relations, joined me for the day-long event.

The summit brought together leaders from Indiana’s business, military and education sectors to focus on innovation and supply chain challenges. Banks moderated discussion on the importance of taking advantage of research and manufacturing expertise in Indiana for the advancement of national defense. Northeast Indiana has an extensive industrial base that includes electronic warfare, communications and micro-electronics. Banks, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, also made the point that there are more manufacturing jobs per capita in his northeast Indiana congressional district than any other in the nation.

The recent supply chain disruptions have proven that the U.S. must significantly expand trusted micro-electronics manufacturing, and Indiana is in a good position to contribute.

Click the video below for an archived stream of the summit.