The Applied Science & Technology Research Organization of America (ASTRO America) has received a $1 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation for the Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program.
This project, Advancing Additive Manufacturing Technologies, aims to promote the use of 3D printing and expand capabilities in aerospace, defense and energy. ASTRO America will use the grant to help small and medium-sized businesses in Florida transition to additive manufacturing.
“Florida remains on the cutting edge of science and technology,” said Neal Orringer, President of ASTRO America. “This initiative will spur further innovation in the field of 3D printing across the State. It will also support job creation, and grow a new generation of engineers and technicians. We could not have better partners in this endeavor than Florida’s universities and business community. We look forward to working with the State and other stakeholders to build a regional innovation engine.”
ASTRO America coordinates this effort with five prestigious minority-serving institutions, including Florida International University and the University of Florida.
“These NSF Engines Development Awards lay the foundation for emerging hubs of innovation and potential future NSF Engines,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. “These awardees are part of the fabric of NSF’s vision to create opportunities everywhere and enable innovation anywhere. They will build robust regional partnerships rooted in scientific and technological innovation in every part of our nation. Through these planning awards, NSF is seeding the future for in-place innovation in communities and to grow their regional economies through research and partnerships. This will unleash ideas, talent, pathways and resources to create vibrant innovation ecosystems all across our nation.”
The NSF Engines program is a transformative investment designed to ensure U.S. competitiveness in the decades ahead.
“We are honored to be part of this ‘All-Star’ Florida university consortium, and fulfilling our role in boosting our State’s manufacturing ecosystem. Together with our industry partners, we aim to deliver integrative, aggregated and repeatable solutions that are grounded in demonstrated innovative technologies distinctively aimed to benefit small-to-medium manufacturing suppliers that will help contribute to Florida’s flourishing economy and high-skilled workforce,” said Forrest Masters, Ph.D., P.E., Interim Dean, University of Florida’s Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.
“University of Central Florida’s strength in materials engineering and additive manufacturing will benefit this new initiative. We look forward to engaging with our partners in this exciting effort to advance manufacturing capability in Florida and the U.S. through scientific and technological innovations,” said Michael Georgiopoulos, dean, UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science in Orlando.
“There’s many reasons why we are excited to be a part of this important collaboration and the larger aim of advancing AM in these critical sectors,” said Suvranu De, dean of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. “Our renowned facilities and faculty research at the High-Performance Materials Institute, Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion and Aero-Propulsion, Energy and Mechatronics Center exponentially expand the opportunities. But leveraging the joint nature of our college introduces the unique opportunity to recruit and develop the next-generation of AM engineers. It’s exciting to imagine these engineers coming through the HBCU and top-tier research university ecosystem we have created at this college.”
“This consortium provides Florida with an excellent opportunity to lead efforts to expand the discipline of additive manufacturing (AM) using cutting-edge techniques,” said Arvind Agarwal, Chair of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing. “FIU is excited to contribute by leading efforts to craft novel, hands-on curriculum that will serve to cultivate a superior AM workforce for the future, which will benefit aerospace, defense, marine and biomedical industries.”
Find out more about ASTRO America at astroa.org.
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