About NextFlex

Dr. Thompson brings over 30 years of executive experience in the display, semiconductor, and telecom industries to his current role as Executive Director of NextFlex. He served as the Founder and Chairman of the US Display Consortium and was CTO at Xerox PARC. Dr. Thompson was also CEO of four startups during his career, raising over $300M: dpiX, makers of digital x-ray imaging systems; Novalux, providers of high power vertical cavity lasers; Vitex, makers of encapsulants for OLEDs; and RPO, manufacturers of touch systems for mobile products. Recent advisory roles include advisor to the National Academy of Sciences for flexible electronics, the Pentagon, and White House Economic Advisory Council; he was also appointed Technology Pioneer at the World Economic Forum in 2000 and 2001. Dr. Thompson received a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from the University of Brighton.

Diane Baxster, NextFlex’s Director of Finance, brings over 30 years of CFO experience in both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Diane started her career with Ernst & Young before joining industry. She has worked in publicly traded companies as well as privately held startups in medical device, biotech, electronics, software, training and services companies. She was the CFO for the United Services Organization, Inc. (USO) and educational institutions. Diane is highly skilled in management of finance and accounting operations, including strategic planning, financial planning and analysis, financial organization, systems implementation, revenue recognition, inventory control, cost accounting, cash management and management of P&L. She is proficient in business development, customer relations, merger & acquisition negotiations, and turnaround situations. She is also experienced in contract negotiations & administration, managing banking relations including debt instruments and investment portfolio management. Diane has strong skills in human resources management setting policies & procedures, recruitment, training and supervision. She has managed corporate compliance and regulatory reporting – FAR, SEC, tax (domestic & int’l) affirmative action, retirement programs and risk analysis.

Giorgio Bazzan is a Program Manager in the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) Manufacturing and Industrial Technology Division. Dr. Bazzan is the lead of the Division efforts in Biomanufacturing and manage various programs for the Defense Production Act – Title III. He also serves as Government Chief Technology Officer for NextFlex, a $170M public-private partnership established to create a domestic manufacturing ecosystem in flexible hybrid electronics.

Before joining AFRL, he worked for UES Inc. in various roles (Research Scientist, Program Manager and Deputy Division Director). Research areas included additive manufacturing techniques (inkjet, aerosol jet and direct-ink writing) applied to organic and flexible electronics. He also wrote several successful proposals and managed several government contracts. Dr. Bazzan received his Ph.D. in Chemistry (Nanotechnology & Materials Chemistry program) from the City University of New York and his MS in Chemistry from Padua University (Italy).

Eric W. Forsythe is a staff physicist at the Army Research Laboratory. Dr Forsythe is the Team Leader for Display Technologies and is an Associate Program Manager for the Army’s Flexible Display Center. Prior to joining the Army Research Laboratory, he was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Rochester, in both the Physics Department and the Chemistry Department, where he worked on electronic interfaces and carrier transport in organic light emitting devices in collaboration with the Eastman Kodak Company. Dr. Forsythe received his Ph.D. in Physics from Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ in 1996, where he studied Si nanocrystalline based light emitting devices. Currently, Dr. Forsythe’s research activities include, organic based light emitting device for flexible displays, organic based thin film transistors and organic based photovoltaics. He has authored/coauthored more than 45 papers and has given more than 20 invited talks and seminars.

Ed has over 20 years of experience in Business Development and managing P&L’s in emerging and diverse markets and technologies for the EMS market. Ed served in a variety of business management positions at Jabil, supporting diverse markets such as distributed energy, solar, water treatment, networking-telecom, data storage, medical electronics, and emerging technologies in advanced interconnect and aerospace. Prior to Jabil, Ed served 10 years in the United States Army in various leadership positions in Military Intelligence, specializing in Counter-Espionage. He earned a Bachelors of Science in Human Factors Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Becky joins NextFlex as the Director of Workforce Development, having worked most recently as the Director of Academic Partnerships with the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. Becky has over twenty years of leadership experience in higher education, grant procurement and workforce development. She has helped secure multiple Federal and state grants of over 10M at her former organizations and developed collaborative partnerships between academia and industry over the past 20 years, primarily in manufacturing and healthcare. Becky is passionate about improving people’s lives through workforce development, including addressing issues of equity, access to higher education and improving the health and well-being of vulnerable populations through access to quality STEM Education. Becky holds a Masters in Social Work and a Masters in Public Health, both from the University of Washington in Seattle.

As the Director of Technology, Scott is responsible for the portfolio of Project Calls funded by NextFlex, runs its Technical Council and Technical Working Groups, leads the development of FHE industry roadmapping, oversees initiatives within the Institute, builds and maintains relationships with government and industry partners, and is actively engaged with many o the Agency Driven Projects that NextFlex executes with partner organizations. Scott has a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering Degree from the University of Delaware and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, where he did research on large area electronics manufacturing based on printing processes. Prior to joining NextFlex, Scott led materials R&D groups at GE Global Research supporting a diverse range of businesses. He has worked in areas including printed, flexible, and hybrid electronics; wearable devices; additive manufacturing; and bioprinting and biofabrication.

Erica Roman, NextFlex’s General Counsel, brings over 20 years of experience to this role. Her practice has spanned a variety of environments, from law firms to the U.S. Government, from litigation to transactional law. Her experience is firmly rooted in technology, having practiced with large and boutique law firms in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, including being a member of the Intellectual Property and Technology Licensing Group at Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich (now DLA Piper).

Ms. Roman suspended her private practice for several years when she was selected to serve in the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. Her duties included addressing multi-agency intellectual property policy matters and amicus curiaebrief positions on behalf of the U.S. Government, in addition to preparing Congressional testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee and the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet.

Ms. Roman has deep experience with counseling non-profit technology consortia and other trade groups. She was a member of the original proposal team to secure NextFlex’s funding via its Cooperative Agreement, and has remained a legal advisor to NextFlex since its inception. Ms. Roman was named NextFlex’s General Counsel in November, 2018.

Ms. Roman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Yale University and a Juris Doctorate from University of California, Hastings. Ms. Roman is admitted to practice in California as well as before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Karen Savala is responsible for all aspects of marketing at NextFlex, including strategy, brand management and marketing communications. Prior to joining NextFlex, Karen served as the President of the Americas for SEMI where she led a broad number of strategic industry initiatives involving professionals from across the globe. She also launched the association magazine and worked with technical committees developing semiconductor packaging standards. Karen holds a BS in Business Management from San Jose State University.

As the Director of Human Resources, Taylor is responsible for all HR functions including strategic programs and initiatives, company-wide communication and events, health and safety, legal compliance, recruitment and retention of a diverse and high-quality workforce, benefits administration, and employee morale and well-being.

Taylor has the unique experience of joining NextFlex in February 2016, only 6 months after its inception, making her the 12^th employee in the company, supporting the varied needs of a burgeoning Executive Team. As the company grew, Taylor was able to devote her full attention to HR, drawing upon the people skills she had developed through her years in the hospitality and recreation industries. During NextFlex’s rapid expansion from 2019 to 2022, Taylor was instrumental in growing the NextFlex workforce by 57%.

Taylor earned her Master’s degree in Business Administration from San Jose State University, and her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from University of California at Santa Cruz. She is currently an active member in the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Janos is a technologist at heart, and he is passionate about the future of manufacturing and the new ecosystems enabled by digital technologies. Janos has held R&D, manufacturing and management positions in electronics, displays, specialty materials and printing companies including PARC, PolyPhotonix, Kodak, Merck, Avecia, Zeneca and Gestetner, where he developed printed circuits, functional materials, OLEDs, displays, medical devices as well as novel process technologies. He brings experience of industrial partnerships and joint development projects in the US, Europe and Asia. Janos holds a Ph.D. in Solid State Electronics from Imperial College, London. He is author of over 50 patents.

As Director of Engineering and Fab Operations for the NextFlex Technology Hub, Art oversees a range of process tools used in development and prototyping of flexible hybrid electronics development. The tools placed in the Hub are available both to members and for commercial use, and are used for printing, assembly and integration, and test and measurement. Prior to joining NextFlex, Art led many different groups and technologies associated with hard drive products for both IBM and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. Most recently Art co-founded and served as vice president at NuvoSun, an innovative photovoltaic company that was later acquired by The Dow Chemical Company. Art earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics from Gustavus Adolphus College, and a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Minnesota. Art has co-authored more than 30 articles in refereed journals, presented at 16 US and International Conferences, and holds six US patents.