July 22, 2024

NextFlex Reflects on FlexFactor's Nationwide Impact and Growth

Having just concluded the academic year, the NextFlex team took a moment to reflect on the amazing progress the FlexFactor program has made since its inception in 2016, and celebrated the impact that the program is having around the country by updating our success metrics. Cumulatively, the FlexFactor program has served 21,610 students in 38 geographic ecosystems across 13 states around the country and continues to grow nationwide.

May 21, 2024

May Is Military Appreciation Month - NextFlex Collaborates With Central New Mexico Community College on Military Spouse Profit Training

SAN JOSE, CA — As a DoD sponsored Manufacturing Innovation Institute, NextFlex is collaborating with Central New Mexico Community College on a new program, Military Spouse ProFIT Training. This program will provide skills-based training and employment support to military spouses.

May 20, 2024

Spring 2024 Santa Clara County FlexFactor® Finals Held at NextFlex

Last week we were pleased to host this semester’s FlexFactor at the NextFlex offices. Four teams of high school students competed by pitching their inventive products to a panel of esteemed judges composed of Robert de Neve, General Partner & Chief Strategist General Partner & Chief Strategist at NextPhase Ventures; Christine Holly Ngo, VP of Operations and Business Development at Silicon Valley Elite Manufacturing, Inc; and Jackson Rambough, FHE Design and Process Engineer at NextFlex.

Aug. 16, 2023

Reshoring Electronics Manufacturing with 3D Printing: A Conversation with NextFlex

While much of it takes place behind the closed doors of corporate labs, electronics 3D printing is quietly revolutionizing the way goods are manufactured in the U.S. and abroad. And, thanks to the CHIPS Program, it is receiving a federal boost that will see new ways of making electronics take place at an increasingly domestic level. To learn more about this trend, we spoke to Dr. Art Wall, Director of Fab Operations at NextFlex.

May 12, 2023

Make it Where You Need It - OSD Program Funds Technology to Enable Point-of-Need Manufacturing

The Office of the Secretary of Defense Manufacturing Technology Program (OSD ManTech) has announced the winners of the first-of-its-kind "Point of Need Challenge Pitch Event" for solutions to support forward-deployed forces in austere environments. Held March 8-9 at the ARM Institute in Pittsburgh, Pa., the event showcased technologies generated by member companies of the Department of Defense Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (MIIs). DoD launched nine MIIs between 2012 and 2021, each focused on a particular critical technology, to help revitalize U.S. domestic manufacturing capability.

Sept. 12, 2022

Institute Facilities Are a Draw for Many Early-Stage Companies

August 17, 2022 — Competitiveness was among the primary drivers in the creation of Manufacturing USA to secure U.S. global leadership in advanced manufacturing by connecting people, ideas, and technology. The Manufacturing USA network, which has roots in the creation of America Makes in 2012, has grown to include 16 manufacturing innovation institutes that work to accelerate and de-risk technology development and scale-up through an ecosystem of government research institutions, universities and private sector industry members. Collectively, the institutes in the past decade have advanced 270 technologies toward commercialization.

June 1, 2022

Local Partnerships Can Build STEM Workforce Development in Your District

A proven program, known as FlexFactor, helps students gain a deeper understanding of STEM and the advanced manufacturing sector. “FlexFactor guides student teams to explore emerging technologies and entrepreneurial thinking through an inquiry-based approach where they examine the lifecycle of a product. The process begins with a specific problem’s identification, then progressing to a potential technological solution including a traditional business case, that vets an opportunity based on projected demand, distribution partnerships and a forecasted return on investment for a given solution,” said Courtney Power, Workforce Development Portfolio Manager at NextFlex.

Nov. 24, 2021

Air Force Research Lab working to develop future workforce

Ensuring a steady supply of technical and scientific expertise for American industry and innovation has been a national priority since about 1957 when the Soviet Union launched its first Sputnik. Today, however, with the increasingly rapid pace of high technology, the need to attract young people to the field of advanced technical manufacturing has become even more critical. To meet that need, the Air Force Research Lab recently tasked NextFlex with finding ways to attract students who might not otherwise consider such a career path.

April 26, 2021

AFRL Materials scientist receives NextFlex 2021 Fellow Award

Dr. Jeremy Ward, a scientist at Wright-Patterson’s Air Force Research Laboratory, has received a 2021 Fellow Award from NextFlex, America’s Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE) Manufacturing Institute. Ward was one of four recipients.

June 11, 2020

Department of Defense and NextFlex sign new cooperative agreement

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – The Air Force Research Laboratory and NextFlex recently settled on a seven-year funding agreement worth up to $154 million that includes funding from the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Manufacturing Technology program.The agreement focuses on defense manufacturing requirements to sustain NextFlex’s