Motion + Power Manufacturers Alliance and Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Center for Heat Treating Excellence Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Advance Heat Treatment Research and Education

Alexandria, VA – September 15, 2026 – The Motion + Power Manufacturers Alliance (MPMA) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s (WPI) Center for Heat Treating Excellence (CHTE) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize and deepen their collaboration on heat treatment research, education, and standards development for the gear and bearing industries.

Under the agreement, MPMA will join CHTE as a member, while WPI will receive an MPMA Academic Membership, extending the university’s access to MPMA’s standards resources, educational programming, and member network. Students working within the CHTE program will be eligible to sit on MPMA standards development committees, giving them direct exposure to industry standards work while bringing current academic research perspectives to MPMA’s technical committees. MPMA will also be granted one seat at each of the two meetings CHTE holds annually, ensuring ongoing visibility into and input on CHTE’s research agenda. Together, the two organizations will work to further align their respective bodies of work in pursuit of heat treatment research that benefits the gear and bearing industries.

The collaboration builds on a long-standing relationship between MPMA and CHTE, bringing structure and reciprocity to work the two organizations have supported informally for years. Heat treatment is a critical process step across gear and bearing manufacturing, directly affecting component performance, durability, and reliability across a wide range of applications, from renewable and fossil power generation to transportation, manufacturing, mining, construction, and agriculture.

“Bringing a heat treat program as strong as CHTE’s into our orbit, and exposing their students to standards development early in their careers, is critical to the work we do,” said Todd Praneis, Vice President of Technical for MPMA. “This agreement gives MPMA a direct channel to leading heat treatment research, and it gives CHTE’s students a seat at the table where gear and bearing standards are actually written. It’s a partnership that benefits both organizations and, ultimately, the industries we serve.”

“CHTE has always valued its connection to the gear and bearing manufacturing community, and this MOU puts that connection on firmer footing,” said Dr. Thomas L. Christiansen, Professor of Mechanical & Materials Engineering and CHTE Technical Director at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. “Our students benefit enormously from engaging directly with industry standards work, and MPMA’s participation in our research meetings ensures our work stays closely aligned with the needs of the industries it is meant to serve.”

The MOU reflects both organizations’ commitment to advancing the gear and bearing industry through coordinated research, standards development, and knowledge sharing.

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About MPMA
The Motion + Power Manufacturers Alliance (MPMA) is a merger of the American Gear Manufacturers Association and the American Bearing Manufacturers Association. MPMA is a voluntary association of companies, consultants and academicians with a direct interest in the design, manufacture and application of gears, couplings, bearings and related power transmission components and equipment. The members include gear and bearing manufacturers from the United States, as well as gearing interests from more than 30 countries around the world. MPMA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute to write U.S. standards on gears and bearings.

About the Center for Heat Treating Excellence
The Center for Heat Treating Excellence (CHTE) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is an industry-university research consortium dedicated to advancing the science and practice of heat treating through applied research, testing, and education. CHTE brings together manufacturers, suppliers, and academic researchers to solve shared technical challenges in heat treatment and to prepare the next generation of engineers for careers in the field. CHTE holds two meetings each year to review ongoing research and set priorities for the consortium’s work.

Media Contact: Megan Morris, Digital Content Manager, MPMA, [email protected]