NextFlex Recognizes Heroes of Flexible Hybrid Electronics

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

NextFlex, America’s Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE) Manufacturing Institute, acknowledged nine dedicated individuals who have made remarkable contributions to advancing the flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) ecosystem and industrializing the FHE manufacturing process at this year’s FLEX conference, during the third annual presentation of the NextFlex Fellow Award.

NextFlex, America’s Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Institute, recognized key volunteers through its annual Fellow awards. Pictured here (L to R) are: ACI CEO Dana Hankey who accepted the award on behalf of Mike Mastropietro, VP Engineering, ACI Materials; Pradeep Lall, Ph.D., John and Anne MacFarlane Endowed Professor and Director, Auburn University; Nancy Stoffel, Ph.D., Senior Engineering Professional/Project Manager, GE Global Research; Chris Stoessel, Ph.D., Sr. Manager, Process Development, Eastman Chemical; Malcolm Thompson, NextFlex Executive Director; John Williams Ph.D., Associate Technical Fellow, Boeing Research and Technology; Jeff Stuart, Ph.D., Emerging Technology External Portfolio Lead, Lockheed Martin, and Bruce Hughes, Lead FHE Engineer, AMRDEC. Not pictured: Scott Anderson, Ph.D., Research Scientist Senior Staff, Lockheed Martin and Craig Herndon, Director, Critical Technologies Innovation Center, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division.

The winners received the Fellow Award for their work in accelerating the development of FHE in emerging technologies, manufacturing, defense, aerospace, and medical applications, as well as workforce development.

This year’s NextFlex Fellow Award winners are:

Scott Anderson, Ph.D., Research Scientist Senior Staff, Lockheed Martin

Craig Herndon, Director, Critical Technologies Innovation Center, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division

Bruce Hughes, Lead FHE Engineer, AMRDEC

Pradeep Lall, Ph.D., John and Anne MacFarlane Endowed Professor and Director, Auburn University

Mike Mastropietro, VP Engineering, ACI Materials

Chris Stoessel, Ph.D., Sr. Manager, Process Development, Eastman Chemical

Nancy Stoffel, Ph.D., Senior Engineering Professional/Project Manager, GE Global Research

Jeff Stuart, Ph.D., Emerging Technology External Portfolio Lead, Lockheed Martin

John Williams, Ph.D., Associate Technical Fellow, Boeing Research and Technology

“The nine award recipients have been tirelessly working at the forefront of moving FHE development toward greater manufacturability and commercialization,” said Dr. Malcolm Thompson, executive director for NextFlex. “Partnering with NextFlex, these exceptional industry leaders are leading the charge to make ‘electronics on everything’ a reality in the near future, enabling innovative commercial and military applications that we couldn’t imagine today.”

These award winners have proven to be stellar advocates for advancement and development of FHE in their respective fields, replacing bulky and rigid form factors with flexible and wearable devices attached directly onto substrates for consumers, even human skin. In addition to recognizing these individuals’ phenomenal accomplishments, the awards acknowledge that collaborating with NextFlex and its members will significantly increase the pace of FHE technology development, manufacturing processes and commercialization, as well as inspire new markets and innovative products.

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 U.S. 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 has come together to collectively facilitate innovation, narrow the manufacturing workforce gap, and promote sustainable manufacturing ecosystems.