Florida State University Selects ASTRO America to Establish 3D Printing Center

The Applied Science & Technology Research Organization (ASTRO) America, a nonprofit advanced manufacturing consultancy and think tank based in Washington, DC and Florida, has been selected by Florida State University to establish a center for additive manufacturing (AM) research and training in northwest Florida. ASTRO America will take the lead in designing the factory equipment layout for the facility — named the Institute for Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Research, and Education (InSPIRE) — while also managing the institution’s public and private partnerships.

In addition, ASTRO will aid FSU in formulating the research agenda for InSPIRE, a task that the nonprofit is uniquely qualified to execute. Among other projects, ASTRO has been integral to the rollout of the Biden administration’s AM Forward compact since that initiative launched in May 2022. (ASTRO has in fact been collaborating with FSU on the AM Forward pilot program for over a year now.)

ASTRO has also been helping the government of the US territory of Guam in a multi-phase project to develop a comprehensive AM ecosystem accelerator program. As with all of ASTRO’s work, both the InSPIRE project and the Guam AM accelerator are meant to support the US military and the defense industrial base.

ASTRO America research team with Gov. Lourdes Leon Guerrero of Guam

In a press release about FSU’s selection of ASTRO America to help set up the InSPIRE program, InSPIRE Executive Director Farrukh S. Alvi, PhD, said, “This partnership between FSU and ASTRO America is a critical step in laying the foundation for InSPIRE to have a generational impact on the entire northwest Florida region. InSPIRE will help pioneer some of the most advanced manufacturing capabilities, test and improve the manufactured products in world class aero-test facilities and create new opportunities for students and faculty to work with industry leaders, building on our expertise in research and engineering, fostering next generation innovation and cultivating prosperity in our communities for generations to come.”

ASTRO America President Neal Orringer said, “[FSU] is a national leader in aero-propulsion research. Together with ASTRO’s advanced manufacturing network and expertise, we will build a model public-private partnership to boost competitiveness for America’s aerospace and defense sector and ensure robust economic growth in America’s Gulf Coast region.”

ASTRO America also announced it will be making Panama City, located in northwest Florida, the headquarters for its AM Forward implementation activities. Coming off of the heels of Stifel Financial’s receipt of final federal approval for its AM-Forward Fund — a joint effort with ASTRO — the outlines of AM Forward are finally starting to come into focus as the US prepares to elect a new president.

Even as so much of what comprises the work of AM Forward goes on rather quietly, anyone who has an appreciation for the pace at which change happens in the federal government has to give credit to what ASTRO America has accomplished in not much more than a couple of years. It’s all the more impressive when you consider that the proper funding backing that activity is only just now coming into play.

Looking forward to the next presidential administration, ASTRO will hopefully be used as a template for AM implementation in areas of the economy beyond aerospace and defense. The nature of the US federal budget made that a logical place to start, but every strategically critical sector needs as much or more attention and resources over the next couple of decades.

Images courtesy of ASTRO America