Greetings from ASTRO America!
In this month’s issue:
- ASTRO America Announces Leadership Team for InSPIRE
- 2024 Annual Report
- Recent News
- ASTRO is Hiring!
- Coming Up
ASTRO America Announces Leadership Team for Florida-Based Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing Research Center
Dr. Abdalla Nassar
ASTRO 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.
ASTRO’s 2024 Annual Report is Live! 🗺️
ICYMI: We are pleased to share with you ASTRO America’s latest Annual Report, celebrating 2024 as a transformative year for our think tank and research institute.
Click on the image to flip through the interactive report.
The report includes detailed updates and summaries of impactful initiatives from the past year, including short commentary from President Neal Orringer about considerations for public private partnerships, as well as remembrance of the Honorable Rebecca Blank.
Neal Orringer (L) and LJ Holmes (R)
Recent News 📰
ASTRO had a huge week at #MILAM2025! ⚙️
President Neal Orringer received the 2025 #MILAM Lifetime Achievement Award for his lifelong dedication to public service and steadfast leadership in forging 3D printing partnerships for national security. Adding to the excitement, ASTRO Senior Manufacturing Fellow Larry (LJ) Holmes was honored with the 2025 Education & Workforce Development Award—a testament to his exceptional contributions in advancing 3D printing to support DoD mission priorities. These recognitions highlight ASTRO’s relentless commitment to innovation and impact in the defense manufacturing space. Congratulations, Neal and LJ! 🎉
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ASTRO was featured in the February issue of TCT Magazine! 🗞️ Journalist Sam Davies spoke with ASTRO President Neal Orringer, Vice President of AM Forward Abdalla Nassar, and Florida State University Associate Provost Farrukh Alvi about the groundbreaking InSPIRE initiative, including what’s to come for Panama City. Read online here!
ASTRO America is Hiring! 📋
We’re on the lookout for an Advanced Manufacturing Engineer to join our team in Panama City, Florida! If you’re passionate about cutting-edge manufacturing and want to make an impact, apply today—or share with someone who’d be a great fit!
Apply here: LinkedIn Job Posting