Letter from the Executive Director

Project Call 3.0 Status

Pre-proposals are due to NextFlex by close of business today, July 12. Already we’ve received 69 cover sheets, indicating a healthy response to Project Call 3.0. What is exciting to see is the number of new organizations seeking to participate which points to growing interest in FHE and our community. Also, we are still seeking reviewers for the pre-proposals as we’ve got a lot to get through in a short amount of time because invitations for full proposals will be sent out on July 25. It’s a busy time at NextFlex and we can use the help. If interested, please contact Victor Freitas.

NextFlex Speaks

If you happen to be at SEMICON West in San Francisco tomorrow, July 13, please plan to stop by TechXpot North in the Moscone Center from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm for the session called, “Exploring Electronics Requirements and Solutions for Medical Technology.” Our own Wilfried Bair, senior engineering manager for device integration and packaging, will be speaking on “Flexible Hybrid Electronics for Medical Devices,” a topic that is well-known to us given the number of human health and performance monitoring projects now underway at NextFlex: Flexible Smart Wound Dressing, Flexible Oral Biochemistry Sensing System, Sensor Integration for Wound Monitoring Bandage, and FHE Manufacturing Process for Medical Devices. If you’re at the show, please stop by and say hi to Wilfried.

Innovation Day

The Second Annual NextFlex Innovation Day will be held September 21st from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM here at NextFlex in San Jose. NextFlex members, California legislators, and federal government agency partners, VIP guest speakers, press, and industry colleagues will convene to celebrate a year of progress on project work, ramp up of the Technology Hub, and our astonishing results with our workforce development programs. The day will feature dignitary welcoming the attendees, followed by inspiring presentations from thought leaders on Innovation themes – from healthcare applications to manufacturing, workforce development, and growth. A hosted networking lunch held in our neighbor’s beautiful outdoor space will enable interaction in a casual atmosphere. A variety of FHE-enabled demonstrators will be on display in the afternoon, provided by a broad spectrum of members from across the country and exhibits by the best and brightest FlexFactor™ alumni, whose FHE product ideas will amaze you. Finally, tours of the NextFlex Technology Hub with much of the equipment now in operation will round out the day. The Second Annual NextFlex Innovation day promises to be a great celebration of hard work, learning, and new possibilities. Stay tuned for more details, including the Technical Council meeting which will be held the afternoon prior, September 20, from 1:00 – 5:00 pm with a mixer immediately following. All members will be receiving a participation packet, including an on-line form to sign up for poster/table top exhibits next week. Please watch for it. For more information on Innovation Day, please contact Karen Savala at ksavala@nextflex.us.

Summer Interns at NextFlex

This summer, NextFlex is host to four interns provided at no cost to us through the San Jose Works and SVO STRIVE program. The four high school students are with us for six weeks at 20 hours a week, and they are just great. We have got them in the fab working on the equipment, helping marketing with social media, assuring proper asset tagging of equipment is in place for the finance department, and supporting workforce development activities. I find that having interns over the summer is extremely rewarding for us, first, and I know that the young people learn a lot.

Two high school interns observing a Nanotronics nSpec® optical inspection tool in operation. This tool analyzes substrates for defects.

Thank you all for your continued support, and please do not miss the write-up in this newsletter by Brynt Parmeter on the great success we are having with our project-based learning education program, FlexFactor. We are onto something great here, with over 20 high schools in the San Francisco Bay Area signed up to participate in the 2017-2018 academic year, which will result in over 1000 student participants. That is amazing growth given that our first program last Fall consisted of eight students. Fantastic!

Best regards,

Dr. Malcolm J. Thompson
Executive Director