NextFlex Recognizes All-Stars of Flexible Hybrid Electronics
Fellow awards acknowledge individuals who go above and beyond to push FHE development toward manufacturability and commercialization
MONTEREY, Calif. – Six individuals who are at the forefront of the flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) mission were acknowledged for their efforts at this year’s FLEX conference during the second annual awarding of the NextFlex Fellow Award.
The winners were hand-selected by NextFlex for their work in advancing the use of FHE in manufacturing, research, government, education and military applications, as well as workforce development.
This year’s NextFlex Fellow Award winners are:
- Jim Huang, Research Scientist, HPE Labs
- Joseph M. Kunze, President and CEO, SI2 Technologies
- Terri Sandu, Director, Talent and Business Innovation, Lorain County Community College
- Suresh Sitaraman, Professor, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Tech
- Geoffrey A. Slipher, Research Scientist, US Army Research Laboratory
Richard Vaia, Director, Functional Materials Division, AFRL
Pictured L to R: Suresh Sitaraman, Georgia Tech; Joe Kunze, SI2 Technologies; Malcolm Thompson, NextFlex; Terri Sandu, Lorain County Community College; Michael Durstock, AFRL (on behalf of Rich Vaia) and Eric Forsythe, ARL (on behalf of Geoff Slipher).
L to R: Malcolm Thompson, NextFlex; Jim Huang, HPE Labs
“This year’s award recipients have proven exceptional advocates for the advancement of FHE in their fields,” said Dr. Malcolm Thompson, executive director for NextFlex. “Their leadership as well as their outstanding contributions to NextFlex demonstrate their commitment to innovations in the FHE industry.”
These individuals have proven tireless allies in NextFlex’s ongoing quest to usher in the new age of electronics everywhere, by transplanting electronics boards and tags onto flexible substrates that can be attached to a variety of surfaces – even the human body. In addition to recognizing these all-stars’ accomplishments, the awards acknowledge that working together alongside fellow NextFlex members will greatly increase the rate of innovation in the FHE space, as well as collaboratively overcome challenges to commercialize FHE products.
About Flexible Hybrid Electronics
FHE gives everyday products the power of silicon ICs by combining them with new and unique printing processes and new materials. The result: lightweight, low-cost, flexible, conformable, stretchable, and highly efficient smart products with innumerable uses for consumer, commercial and military applications.
About NextFlex
NextFlex®, America’s Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Institute, is a leading force in the Manufacturing USA network of Institutes. Formed through a cooperative agreement between the US Department of Defense (DoD) and FlexTech Alliance, NextFlex is a consortium of companies, academic institutions, non-profits and state, local and federal governments with a shared goal of advancing U.S. manufacturing of FHE. Since its formation in 2015, NextFlex’s elite team of thought leaders, educators, problem solvers, and manufacturers have come together to collectively facilitate innovation, narrow the manufacturing workforce gap, and promote sustainable manufacturing ecosystems.