NextFlex News – October 2020 Newsletter

Dear Members and Friends,

One of the most important roles a member can have is to serve on the NextFlex Governing Council. This body comprised of members and government advisors provides broad oversight of all consortium activities. New representatives are elected from the member tiers and rotate in as opportunities arise. I’m pleased to announce that Dr. Joey Mead, Interim Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Distinguished University Professor at UMass Lowell, has been elected to the NextFlex Governing Council to represent Tier 1 Academic Members. We’re delighted to have her join the other member representatives of the Governing Council and we look forward to working closely with her as we expand our activities in the coming year. Other voting members of the Governing Council, along with myself, are:

• Jim Libous, LM Fellow, Chief Engineer, Advanced Electronics Directorate, Lockheed Martin (Tier 1 Corporate Member Representative), Chair of the NextFlex Governing Council
• Dr. Robert Smith, Technical Fellow, The Boeing Company (Tier 1 Corporate Representative)
• Dr. Nancy Stoffel, Horizontal Leader, Flexible Hybrid Electronics, GE Global Research (Tier 2 Corporate Member Representative)
• Dr. Chris Stossel, Senior Process Development Manager, Eastman Chemical (Tier 2 Corporate Member Representative)
• Dr. Joseph Kunze, President and CEO, SI2 Technologies (Tier 3 Corporate Member Representative)
• Lieutenant Colonel (Dr.) Melinda Eaton, MRMC/USAMMDA, Director for Strategic Acquisition Planning and Program Management, AFRL
• Dr. Charles Ward, Chief, Manufacturing and Industrial Technologies Division, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, AFRL
• Tracy Frost, Director, OSD ManTech and DoD Manufacturing Institutes

Non-voting Governing Council members include:

• Dr. Giorgio Bazzan, Program Manager, Electronics & Sensors Branch, ManTech Division, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, AFRL and NextFlex Government CTO
• Dr. Eric Forsythe, Team Leader. Flexible Displays, ARL and NextFlex Government Program Manager
• Mark Gordon, OSD ManTech Liaison Officer
• Michael Ciesinski, VP, Technology Communities, SEMI
• Darcy Fauci, Chief of Staff Government Relations, Binghamton University and NextFlex NY Node Representative
• Farhad Vazehgoo, Senior Manager, Advanced Technology Programs, MassTech Collaborative and NextFlex MA Node Representative

I wish to thank these individuals for their support of NextFlex and the energy and enthusiasm with which they offer guidance whenever we call on them. It truly is a collaborative effort.

Keep the good ideas coming.

Sincerely,

Malcolm J. Thompson, Ph.D.
Executive Director