ASTRO America Announces Leadership Team for Florida-Based Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing Research Center
Former John Deere Additive Manufacturing Lead Dr. Abdalla Nassar to Direct AM Forward
February 12, 2025 – Panama City, FL – The Applied Science & Technology Research Organization (ASTRO) of America announced key personnel appointments to support and collaboratively build the Institute for Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Research, and Education (InSPIRE), an aerospace and defense manufacturing ecosystem including end-to-end production, hypersonic aero-testing and immersive training and education to be based in Panama City, Florida. Dr. Abdalla Nassar will serve as technical project lead for manufacturing and industry consortium administrator, and Mark Gustafson and Dr. Julie Christodoulou will serve as Senior Fellows.
“ASTRO America is honored to support Florida State University’s efforts to build InSPIRE as a national leader in manufacturing innovation. Doing so not only requires cutting edge technology but also leading experts with real-world experience,” said Neal Orringer, president of ASTRO America. “Dr. Nassar brings extensive experience in advanced manufacturing research and development, strategic planning, and project management.”
In his role, Dr. Nassar will play a key role in collaboratively building InSPIRE’s advanced manufacturing capabilities by helping define requirements for InSPIRE’s production environment and developing a consortium of local and national industry partners.
“This is an exciting opportunity to build a national model for innovation and economic growth right here in Northwest Florida,” said Dr. Nassar. “Through our partnership with Florida State University and industry leaders, we will demonstrate the power of collaboration to address critical needs at both the local and national level.”
In Panama City, InSPIRE will provide companies– ranging from aircraft manufacturers to small parts suppliers–with access to cutting-edge manufacturing technologies and expertise at every production stage. The facility will include flexible workstations, materials testing and diagnostics labs, educational spaces to foster innovation and skill development. Local, regional and national members of InSPIRE’s industry consortium will embed employees at InSPIRE, collaborating with researchers and faculty from FSU, ASTRO and each other to develop and productionize aerospace and energy systems, while offering hands-on learning to students and aspiring engineers.
“InSPIRE will be at the forefront of developing advanced manufacturing technologies, utilizing some of the most advanced aero-test facilities. InSPIRE prepares local residents and students for promising career opportunities, while creating valuable opportunities for students and faculty to engage with and learn from industry leaders. This initiative builds on FSU’s existing strengths in research and engineering thus ensuring a timely and sustained positive impact.” said InSPIRE Executive Director Farrukh Alvi, PhD.
Dr. Nassar will support InSPIRE in his capacity as Vice President of AM Forward, a compact of several major corporations and government agencies to enhance supply chain resilience through the adoption of metal additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing. The AM Forward initiative, working in concert with InSPIRE, seeks to stimulate regional economic growth by fostering new manufacturing capabilities, creating jobs, and bolstering the resilience of essential supply chains.
Previously, Dr. Nassar served as Enterprise Additive Manufacturing (AM) Lead for John Deere developing long-term strategies for AM and as the AM competency lead, coordinating research and development, supplier engagement, training, standards development, and product development worldwide. Prior to this, he was department head within the Materials Science Division of the Applied Research Laboratory at Penn State University managing a team of faculty, engineers, and support specialists executing fundamental and applied programs and transitioning critical technologies to industry and government sponsors.
Alongside Dr. Nassar, ASTRO is helping augment Florida State’s growing InSPIRE faculty and researchers with additional experts, including:
- Neal Orringer, ASTRO President, former Director of Manufacturing for the Department of Defense, and former Senior Technology Leader for GE Additive and Vice President at 3D Systems.
- Dr. Julie Christodoulou, ASTRO Senior Fellow; former division director of Materials & Manufacturing S&T, Office of Naval Research’s Sea Warfare & Weapons department; former co-chair of White House National Science & Technology Council’s Materials Genome Initiative.
- Mr. Michael “Mick” Maher, ASTRO Chief Technology Officer; former U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program manager; and branch chief at the Army Research Laboratory.
- Mark Gustafson, ASTRO Senior Fellow; former U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program manager; Air Force Research Laboratory program manager; and, principal engineering fellow at Raytheon Technologies.
Additional key appointments will be announced at a later date.
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The Applied Science and Technology Research Organization of America (ASTRO America) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, non-partisan Research Institute and Think Tank. It was established in 2018 to advance the public interest through manufacturing technology and policy. Led by manufacturing professionals with broad public and private sector experience, ASTRO America supports collaborations by government agencies and companies to address supply chain challenges in highly regulated industries, including aerospace and defense.
The Institute for Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Research, & Education (InSPIRE) at Florida State University aims to fuel the local innovation economy and serve as a beacon to attract investment and economic opportunity to the region. The InSPIRE initiative includes not only applied research, advanced manufacturing and aerospace testing and prototyping facilities but also resources dedicated to increasing the number of engineering graduates. InSPIRE is also dedicated to STEM outreach and development of K-20 students and teachers to build and strengthen the workforce talent needed to serve the high-speed aerodynamics and advanced manufacturing industries.
One of the nation’s top public research universities, Florida State University serves more than 43,000 students from all 50 U.S. states and more than 120 countries. Located in Tallahassee, Florida’s capital, and Panama City, FSU offers more than 275 undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs, including medicine and law, taught by exceptional faculty who are leaders in their fields. Whether they are Pulitzer Prize winners, Guggenheim Fellows or members of the National Academies, FSU faculty inspire students to reach their full potential with unparalleled opportunities in the arts, sciences, and humanities. FSU’s unwavering commitment to student success produces some of the highest retention and graduation rates in the nation. Florida State’s welcoming campus is the oldest continuous site of higher education in the state and home to a growing research enterprise, the world-class National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, celebrated fine and performing arts programs, an entrepreneurial culture and championship athletics teams.