NextFlex Participates in Annual Pentagon Day
OSD ManTech hosted all nine of the DoD Manufacturing Innovation Institutes at the Pentagon on June 4th to enable a group of senior leaders to learn more about emerging technologies for defense applications. NextFlex brought a wide array of demonstrators to represent several application areas, including wearable devices for human performance, medical and safety, munitions and explosive ordinance disposal, semiconductor packaging, and materials and manufacturing. Several senior DoD leaders attended, including these individuals who visited with Dr. Scott Miller and Dr. Nick Morris who described the purpose and impact of the demonstrators and answered questions:
- Aprille Erickson, Assistant Secretary of Defense (ASD) for Science and Technology,
- Jason Rathje, Director, Office of Strategic Capital, U.S. Department of Defense
- Maynard Holliday, Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies (PTDO, ASD(CT)), and
- Brett Seidle, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research (DASN), Development, Test and. Engineering.
Organized by OSD Mantech, the annual “Pentagon Day” event has proven to be extremely popular. Positioned in one of the Apex hallways, passersby and invited visitors alike are treated to new technology solutions from nine different Manufacturing Institutes including: AFFOA, AIM Photonics, America Makes, ARM, BioMade, BioFabUSA, LIFT, MXD, and NextFlex, as well as the DoD Service ManTech programs. “This opportunity to present tangible demonstrators of outputs that NextFlex members have developed through Project Calls and Agency Driven Projects to a cross-section of DoD stakeholders showcases the Institute’s impact on DoD’s short- and long-term goals for delivering both technologies and an efficient U.S. ecosystem and supply chain to develop and manufacture them,” explained Dr. Miller.
NextFlex thanks the following organizations for providing demonstrators for this important NextFlex event at the Pentagon:
- Sustainable Additively Printed Electronics – Auburn University, Jabil, DoD ManTech
- Flexible X-Ray Detectors for Explosive Ordinance Disposal – Innovaflex Foundry
- Wearable Vital Sign Monitor – GE Healthcare, Binghamton University, DuPont, Uniformed Services University, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Tapecon
- Additive RF Multichip Module – GE Healthcare, Binghamton University
- Tissue Oxygenation Patch for Casualty Monitoring and Tracking – NIRSense
- Conformal Sensor Circuit Manufacturing and Point of Need Manufacturing Challenge – Austere nField Repair – nScrypt, Sciperio
- Nonplanar 3D Packaging Approaches for Compact Microwave Systems – UMass Lowell, RTX
- Wearable Confined Space Monitor for Worker Safety – Vigilife/Aptima, NextFlex
- Integrated Head Protection System RAILINK Infrastructure: Step in Visor Heads Up Display – Gentex Corporation
- Wearable Sensors for Multi-Domain Platoon Operations – Drexel University PA Fabric Discovery Center, AFFOA, ARM, NextFlex
- AR/VR Integrated 40 mm Smart Munitions – IS4S
- Embedded Sensors for Composite Material Process & Structural Health Monitoring – GE Aerospace, Binghamton University, Sikorsky, Georgia Tech
- Human Machine Interface Touch Surfaces Using In-Mold Electronics Interconnection – Auburn University, Jabil, Molex
- Scalable Manufacturing for ELMNT Liquid Metal Inks – UES, A Blue Halo Company, Tapecon
- Wireless Machinery Monitoring Sensor – Aptima
- High Temperature CMOS Signal Electronics – GE Aerospace
- 2D Nanomaterial Inks for Hybrid Integration – Boise State University, Oregon State University
We look forward to following up with the new connections we made and look forward to supporting DoD ManTech efforts to help bring technology solutions to defense applications. Given the success of this year’s event, we eagerly anticipate an even bigger and better event in 2025.