Happy New Year!
Our new year is off to an exciting start! As we closed out 2019, I witnessed one of the best examples of interagency and cross-department cooperation that I have ever seen in my 30+ years supporting the defense industry. Technical personnel and account managers from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, along with the Department of Defense’s agency responsible for Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) and representatives from each of the DoD services came together at BRIDG to support the kickoff of our
newly awarded federal contract and to strategize on ways to accelerate capability development that also leverages the international technology transfer at the core of our evolving capabilities.
With an increased awareness of the threat associated with microelectronics being produced in unsecure environments, robust discussion centered around the need for having mature capabilities much sooner than projected. It was truly inspiring to see everyone in the room collaborating on how we can jointly achieve capabilities acceleration, with similar themes experienced throughout my visit to the Pentagon earlier this month. The excitement continues next week as we officially kickoff of our
Air Force Secure Digital Twin contract, in addition to hosting the National Trust Consortium onsite.
The IBAS and AFRL awards are foundational contracts that push us ahead of our goals in terms of external funding; however, as everyone knew from the onset, these contracts will not cover the full cost of operating the facility. While we are well on our way to self-sustainability, we remain dependent on public support to cover a significant portion of our operational costs. As such, I am grateful to the Orlando Economic Partnership (OEP) for including BRIDG on the
list of regional priorities to champion during this year’s legislative session. It was an honor to see so many business leaders, under the leadership of the OEP, advocating for our regional priorities during their recent trip to Tallahassee. I want to extend a special thank you to everyone who participated on the trip and advocated on behalf of this important project.
Most importantly, thanks to each of you who have taken the time to understand our mission, vision, and strategy. As we welcome this new decade, I am certain that, together, we are making a difference for generations to come!
Join us as we create tomorrow here in NeoCity.
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New on the Blog – The Situation: Offshore Microelectronics Production
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Not a week passes without news of another cyber incursion, whether to the electricity grid, municipal systems, commercial companies, or defense systems. These incursions are at best a costly nuisance and at worst an alarming indication of how vulnerable our critical systems are. Securing these systems requires more than protecting our networks from hacking; we must also protect the foundational microelectronics hardware.
Our latest blog post focuses on the critical role microelectronics play in our society—and the increasing dangers of offshoring microelectronics fabrication.
Read more on GoBRIDG.com.
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Prioritizing Workforce Development
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Being an inspiration to the future workforce continues to be a priority for the BRIDG team as we head into what promises to be a very busy 2020. In just the past couple of weeks, we welcomed a large delegation of university students from South Korea for a tour of the BRIDG facility, while also participating in Junior Achievement of Central Florida's
JA Inspire – attended by over 4,000 local 8
th grade students – to help promote careers in manufacturing. In addition, BRIDG Vice President of Digital Twin Programs Fran Korosec spent time with Oak Ridge High School students during the
JA Academy | 3DE executive speaker series to discuss opportunities for careers in STEM and reinforce the importance of core competencies taught at this innovative new school; accountability, collaboration, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, and respectability. We enjoy these opportunities to meet with the next generation of workforce and look forward to another exciting year ahead!
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SUSS MicroTec Partnership Update
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On the heels of the announcement of our latest
industry partnership with SUSS MicroTec, SUSS sent a delegation of their team members from across the globe to NeoCity for several days of strategy meetings. With the equipment for our joint production-level application center now onsite at BRIDG and ready for installation, we look forward to a successful launch of SUSS MicroTec’s North American demonstration center at BRIDG this summer. Stay tuned!
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Central Florida Leaders Visit NeoCity
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We often hear, “What is NeoCity, and where is it?” January presented the opportunity for hundreds of our Central Florida leaders to visit Osceola County’s 500-acre master planned tech district to hear firsthand the answers to those questions. These leaders were part of groups that included
Leadership Orlando (Class 98), the
Lake Nona Regional Chamber of Commerce, and even the local Kissimmee Coffee Club – who held their weekly meeting at The OC Café located on the first floor of our building – to learn about the many activities occurring at NeoCity that are spearheaded by not only BRIDG but also by other NeoCity-based partners, as well. Thank you to everyone who visited this month to learn about the innovative technologies and activities happening in our neighborhood!
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2019 was certainly a year for the books! As we ring in the new decade, be sure to check out the January issue of
i4 Business magazine to take a look back on last year’s
highlights from BRIDG and NeoCity.
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GOMACTech | March 16-19, 2020
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BRIDG along with our partners at imec USA will be participating as exhibitors at
GOMACTech. Established in 1968, the conference focuses on advances in systems being developed by the Department of Defense and other government agencies and has been used to announce major government microelectronics initiatives. If you are attending, be sure to visit us at booth #409.
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BRIDG is located at NeoCity, a 500-acre master planned development strategically positioned in Central Florida, in the heart of Osceola County.
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