July 2026 Newsletter

Aug 9, 2026

August 7, 2026

Greetings from ASTRO America! 👋🏼

In our July recap:

  • Tech Showcase Sneak Peek
  • ASTRO in the News
  • ASTRO in Action
  • Upcoming Events

Tech Showcase Sneak Peek  👀Tech Showcase Sneak Peak

ASTRO America and FSU InSPIRE are just days away from hosting the 2nd Annual ASTRO-InSPIRE Tech Showcase in Destin, Florida.

This year’s showcase, “Distortion Prediction & Compensation in LPBF,” will focus on one of the biggest barriers to scaling additive manufacturing: predicting and compensating for distortion in laser powder bed fusion. While tools exist to help address the issue, the field still needs clearer benchmarking to understand how these solutions perform in real-world applications.

That is exactly what the showcase is designed to do.

On Wednesday, August 12, advanced manufacturing leaders, technical evaluators, solution providers, public officials, and industry stakeholders will gather at the Emerald Grande to review competing approaches, discuss challenge results, and explore how better distortion prediction and compensation can help make additive manufacturing more reliable, repeatable, and production-ready.

The event will open with remarks and keynote introductions featuring leaders from ASTRO America, FSU InSPIRE, Florida State University, Florida’s Great Northwest, and Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc., along with invited perspectives from senior federal government officials. Dr. Abdalla Nassar, Vice President and General Manager of ASTRO South, will kick off the challenge portion of the program and later lead the wrap-up and winner announcement.

The competitor presentations and technical evaluation sessions will be closed to press, but media are welcome to attend the welcome remarks and keynote portions. 

Event: 2nd Annual ASTRO-InSPIRE Tech Showcase

Theme: Distortion Prediction & Compensation in LPBF

Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Time: 1:00–7:00 p.m. ET

Location: Emerald Grande, 10 Harbor Blvd, Destin, FL

Want a preview of what to expect? Watch highlights from last year’s Tech Challenge here.

ASTRO in the News 📰 ASTRO’s Guam Additive Materials and Manufacturing Accelerator

New coverage from The Guam Daily Post provides an on-island update on ASTRO’s Guam Additive Materials and Manufacturing Accelerator (GAMMA), including its path toward full operating capacity by February 2027.

The article, accompanied by photos taken on-site showing GAMMA’s equipment and ASTRO team members in Guam, highlights the progress underway inside the facility and what GAMMA is being built to do: create a world-class advanced manufacturing capability in Guam that can support the U.S. Navy Submarine Industrial Base, and address hard-to-source parts needs within the Indo-Pacific region.

The piece also explains why testing and evaluation are central to the initiative, ensuring that parts can be produced quickly while meeting the quality and reliability standards mission-critical applications require. Just as importantly, it underscores GAMMA’s long-term workforce vision to help build the local talent pipeline needed to sustain advanced manufacturing on-island. 🇬🇺

Read the full story here.

ASTRO’s Guam Additive Materials and Manufacturing Accelerator

ASTRO President Neal Orringer and The Roosevelt Group’s Matt Herrmann joined Patti Aroyo on-island to provide GAMMA updates and discuss the vital role the initiative will play in serving Guam and the U.S. Navy.While on-island, ASTRO President Neal Orringer and The Roosevelt Group’s Matt Herrmann joined Patti Aroyo on-island to provide GAMMA updates and discuss the vital role the initiative will play in serving Guam and the U.S. Navy.

It’s always a pleasure to spend our Mornings with Patti! Stream the appearance here.

 

ASTRO in Action 🎤Society of American Military Engineers Guam Post’s 2026 Industry Forum

Last month, ASTRO was proud to sponsor the Society of American Military Engineers Guam Post’s 2026 Industry Forum, where Chief Financial Officer Dan Burke presented an update on the Guam Additive Materials and Manufacturing Accelerator (GAMMA) and its path toward Initial Operational Capability.

Dan’s presentation highlighted the progress underway as GAMMA nears initial operations and ASTRO continues building advanced manufacturing capability on-island in Guam. The initiative is designed to support the U.S. Navy Submarine Industrial Base, strengthen supply chain resilience, and create new technical pathways for Guam’s local workforce. 

Special shoutout to University of Guam graduate and ASTRO intern Josiah Quitugua, who represented ASTRO at the booth during the forum. Thank you to SAME Guam Post for convening an important conversation about infrastructure, readiness, and Guam’s future.

Society of American Military Engineers Guam Post’s 2026 Industry Forum

2026 Research SymposiumAdditionally, ASTRO Midwest presented at the ASNT 2026 Research Symposium in Salt Lake City, Utah. Noah Barnhill, General Manager and Principal Investigator, and Zak Scott, Advanced Manufacturing Engineer, presented “NDE Development for Solid State Additive Manufacturing,” examining how non-destructive evaluation methods can support the qualification of solid-state additive manufacturing for aerospace applications.

Their work focused on detecting flaws in AFSD aluminum parts using ultrasonic, eddy current, and radiographic methods. These findings will help inform future procedures, standards, and probability-of-detection studies needed to support reliable part acceptance.

Congratulations to Noah and Zak on representing ASTRO Midwest and advancing this important work!

Upcoming Events 🗓️