Did you ever wonder if complaints are a good thing? Recently, I’ve been hearing, “there is no place to park,” or “every space is full,” and “what do you mean we have to move interns to folding tables?” Well, I think it’s all an indication of the positive impacts starting to occur. Between BRIDG employees, partners, vendors, contractors and subcontractors working on tools installation, interns, and visitors, we are filling the parking lot almost every day. That’s in addition to the construction crew working on the new office building (who park in the grass lot) and the incoming crews that will be constructing the new choice STEM High School, NeoCity Academy, on campus.
Speaking of the new office building, we are excited to be less than a year away from getting the much-needed office space! As many know, our current office space will be converted into lab space as soon as we move into the new building. In fact, our partners already require more labs space – even as we squeeze a new workshop into the second-floor mechanical area. And, as mentioned above, we now have interns sitting in groups at folding tables set up in the nooks and corners of the building. We really appreciate their attitude and willingness to endure our growing pains!
So, why is all of this a good sign? It’s a reminder that the economic impacts this project intended to have is indeed happening. Critics may discount some jobs because they are not classified as permanent (contractors with specific skillsets cycle through based on phase of construction); however, these jobs fill payrolls that would not have existed were it not for Osceola County, UCF, the Corridor, and other visionary stakeholders willing to make the bold decisions to invest in the region.
Join us as we create a new reality together here in NeoCity!
Chester Kennedy
CEO
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BRIDG Produces First Patterned Wafer
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BRIDG started the month off strong by reaching another important technical milestone: the creation of our first patterned wafer. Characters were created by exposing UV light into a photoresist film that was processed in a liquid developer to remove squares of photoresist that make up the text. The “background” surrounding the text is photoresist film that was not exposed to UV light.
Even though this was a relatively simple process, it took an incredible amount of work to get to the point where our fab was able to produce and create a pattern on this first wafer. Thank you to our team members, partners, and supporters for your tireless efforts over the last few years! We couldn’t have gotten this far without you.
We recently sat down with
Julie Gargotta from News 13
and Jamie Holmes from WFTV Channel 9 to discuss the latest BRIDG milestone. Thank you to Julie, Jamie, and their teams for coming out to BRIDG and sharing the news!
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And last week, BRIDG was chosen by the
School District of Osceola County
as one of their “District Business Partners of the Year” in recognition for support of the educational needs of students, teachers, and staff.
Thank you to
Orlando Business Journal
and the School District of Osceola County for the very kind recognitions!
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Construction Has Begun on Our New Office Building
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Construction is well underway on our new office building. We are looking forward to seeing it open next year!
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BRIDG ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
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Dr. Frank A. Shemansky, Jr.
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Dr. Frank A. Shemansky, Jr. currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer for MEMS & Sensors at SEMI, the global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chain for the electronics industry. Over a span of 25 years, Dr. Shemansky has enjoyed many multifunctional roles from groundbreaking R&D to technical business development. His diverse background ranges from fundamental research to executive-level positions, including Vice President of Engineering and Vice President of Business Development at multiple successful hardware and software start-ups.
Dr. Shemansky’s focus has been on sensors and systems, including both hardware and software for consumer, automotive, industrial, military, and aerospace applications. He has extensive system experience incorporating sensor technology for Wearable, Smartphone, and IoT markets including business development, product management, and hardware engineering (design, product and technology development).
Dr. Shemansky was a member of the Motorola team (now NXP) that designed, developed, and brought to market some of the first high volume inertial MEMS products, transforming a concept into a business worth more than $300 million per year. He has seven issued patents and over 30 publications and conference presentations. He is also the co-author of world’s first MEMS textbook,
Sensor Technology and Devices
.
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RECENT EVENTS / OTHER NEWS
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Junior Achievement Inspire
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BRIDG joined several partners (Osceola County, Massey Services, Inc., imec USA, Tupperware Brands, and the Manufacturers Association of Central Florida) at
Junior Achievement
Inspire held at
Osceola Heritage Park
on May 17. The program initiative provided more than 4,000 eighth grade students with career mentorship through an interactive exploration of local career pathways. It was great to spend time with so many students who share a passion in STEM. Thanks to all that stopped by!
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NeoCity Academy Family Information Night
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On May 22, BRIDG joined future
NeoCity Academy
students and their family members for NeoCity Academy Family Information Night. Thank you to the
School District of Osceola County
for including BRIDG on the agenda! We were truly impressed by the huge turnout and enthusiasm from everyone in the room!
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SEMICON West – July 10-12, 2018
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BRIDG will be exhibiting alongside our partners from the
Orlando Economic Partnership
during
SEMICON West
, one of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturing and materials tradeshows. The event will be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. If you are attending, be sure to visit us at booths #6155 and #6157.
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BRIDG is located at NeoCity in Osceola County, Florida.
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