TechConnect Magazine Spring 2023 Edition: Manufacturing

Arizona: Where innovators turn for what’s next.

Something big, bold and exciting is happening in the Grand Canyon state. Cutting-edge companies are launching, testing and scaling new technologies in Arizona. Our culture of innovation, highly skilled talent pool, lean regulatory environment, and affordable operating costs provide the perfect platform for business growth and success. Beyond being a place where you can achieve your professional goals, Arizona also provides a lifestyle that allows you to achieve your personal goals. With year-round sunshine, endless outdoor activities, and a positive outlook, we play as hard as we work. It’s this perfect balance that makes life better here.

MANUFACTURING

SPRING 2023

PUBLISHERS

A Space to Grow Professionally

To the classroom and beyond: Building improved spaceflight hardware at NAU

Taking Shape

Funding supports way to create precision satellite reflectors

Addition, Subtraction

Printing techniques equal ways for students to produce items

In the Right Place

App guides healthy rotation of insulin pumps, sensors for diabetics

A First in Arizona HonorHealth Research Institute implants state-of-the-art modified pacemaker system

Sandra Watson

Steven G. Zylstra

EDITOR

Don Rodriguez

EXECUTIVE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Alyssa Tufts

MAGAZINE DESIGNED BY:

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Maddie Santiago

EMAIL techconnect@aztechcouncil.org

For queries or customer service, call 602-343-8324

View more of TechConnect: aztechcouncil.org/techconnect

TechConnect is published by the Arizona Technology Council, 2800 N. Central Ave. #1530, Phoenix, AZ 85004

Entire contents copyright 2023, Arizona Technology Council. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Products named in these page pages are trade names or trademarks of their respective companies. Publication of TechConnect is supported by the Arizona Commerce Authority.

MANUFACTURERS HELP CREATE ARIZONA’S FUTURE

To anyone who thought the hey days of manufacturing ended 50 years ago: Welcome to the era of Manufacturing 2.0!

Fortunately for us, Arizona is part of this renaissance. Consider these words from the National Association of Manufacturers on the state of our state in 2021:

Manufacturers in Arizona account for 8.51% of the total output in the state, employing 6.05% of the workforce. Total output from manufacturing was $37.6 billion in 2021.

Manufacturers help to drive the Arizona economy, with $20.31 billion in manufactured goods exports in 2021.

In addition, there were an average of 182,000 manufacturing employees in Arizona in December 2021, with an average annual compensation of $99,310.53 in 2021.

Add to that the group’s latest survey of total manufacturing firms in Arizona was 4,051 in 2019.

It should come as no surprise that innovations by the technology sector made a huge impact.

Topping the list of types of manufacturing in 2021 were computer and electronic products with a value of nearly $10.7 billion – a jump of almost 29% from the amount recorded in 2017. Coming in second was aerospace and other transportation equipment worth almost $5.8 billion, which was off about 15% what was reported four years earlier but noteworthy nonetheless.

If you follow the headlines or just drive around the state, you already know the names of some of the players. Intel, onsemi, Boeing and Honeywell are a few who have practically become household names here.

There are others that may not be as well-known but are still critical. A&P Material Supply is just one example. For machinery with semiconductors at their heart, the Chandler-based company offers decades of experience providing such products as harness and cable systems for automobiles. It also has the capability of designing and producing custom-tailored printed circuit boards. Coming in fourth on the Arizona list was fabricated metal products with a 2021 value exceeding $2.2 billion, which was about 15% more than the tally in 2017. This includes products created through computer numerical control (CNC) machining.

When it comes to innovation, few assembly lines can churn out the never-before-seen parts. That means turning to CNC machinists like the Escobar family – father José, mother Idalia and son Christian – highly skilled crafts people who own and operate Alpha Manufacturing Solutions in Phoenix.

Whether large or small, there are manufacturers ready to create or help make the next big thing. In this issue of TechConnect, we introduce you to a sample of the players that are at home in Arizona.

In all, more stories of success in the Grand Canyon State. What do you make of that?

Steven G. Zylstra is president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council and SciTech Institute.

A PACE TOWARD TOMORROW

Arizona manufacturers making a mark on the marketplace

Is it possible to make your own future success while impacting that of others?

Arizona is finding out it is as manufacturers turn the state into a base for their operations as their ideas leave the digital drawing boards and become reality. The benefits are not only for these makers of new products but their employees and Arizona’s economy as well.

The spectrum of industries impacted is quite wide. Some names you already know from media coverage while others still quietly touch our lives.

Nikola has become a global leader in zero-emission transportation and energy supply and infrastructure solutions. More than a few eyebrows were raised when Coolidge was selected to leave its history in mining and cotton in the rear-view mirror as Nikola began commercial serial truck production of the battery-electric Nikola Tre BEV. Next came a hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicle for longer or continuous metro-regional applications.

Most recently Nikola unveiled a new global brand to better reflect where it is headed. The HYLA brand represents its hydrogen-focused energy business by supporting Nikola’s fuel cell electric vehicles, as well as those of other OEMs.

This includes Buckeye becoming the Arizona production hub in a plan to develop access of up to 300 metric-tons per day of hydrogen.

Speaking of transportation, Casa Grande became a production site for Lucid Motors Air model. In the fourth quarter of 2022 alone, the company reported producing nearly 3,500 vehicles. Apparently, that is just the beginning. An expansion has been announced to take the facility from 800,000 square feet to 2.8 million square feet along with adding the Sapphire model to its production.

As more of the world finds out about the Arizona connection these two companies have, one Scottsdale company continues to increase its impact around the globe. Axon grew from its early namesake Taser designed to provide non-lethal means for law-enforcement officers and others to incapacitate people posing a threat.

Other headlines were made with the introduction of body cameras worn by police. In a report on its highlights from 2022, Axon said 85% of respondents reported seeing improved trust with the public because of body-worn cameras. In Tempe, GT Medical Technologies’ GammaTile has been making a name for itself in the world of medicine. Clinical studies have shown that treatment with GammaTile significantly delays tumor regrowth and can extend the lives of patients undergoing treatment for the deadliest form of brain cancer, glioblastoma.

Nikola employees prepare Tre BEV trucks for their customers.

The treatment is implanted during the last five minutes of brain tumor removal surgery to eliminate residual tumor cells. This targeted radiation therapy replaces the need for weeks of external radiation treatments, allowing patients the freedom to resume their normal lives and activities more quickly than current standards of care.

The device has been available in the United States since 2019 for patients with recurrent brain tumors and since 2020 for patients with newly diagnosed malignant brain tumors. Arizona Center for Cancer Care and HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center each have celebrated milestones marking their 100th patients treated with GammaTile.

While manufacturers are getting recognition on their own, sometimes it takes their involvement with other companies to increase their impact. One example is Phoenix-based FreePower, which is in the business of wireless charging. If you have a Tesla and need a place to charge all your gadgets at once, an accessory that contains FreePower’s charging coils allows it to charge devices no matter where they are placed on the platform or the orientation.

FreePower is a technology supplier that engineers its own proprietary free-position wireless charging platform. While “Engineered with FreePower” products are gaining some traction, retailers still may not easily recognize the name. Instead, it partners with OEMs and brands like Tesla to showcase its technology through integrations with their products.

Sometimes companies want to see if an idea can be taken to another level before even making it for the masses. That’s where Tempe-based Delta Technology can come in. It has provided thousands of unique, custom solutions across many industries by collaborating with other companies to create solutions that combine all facets of automation, delivering

solutions with reduced risk versus traditional build-to-spec methodology.

A new addition to what it can offer is the Delta Robotics Lab, where the company showcases its expertise while allowing companies to see firsthand how they can leverage automation—think “robotics”—for their businesses by tapping into Delta Technology’s in-house engineering team and years of experience.

The lab allows businesses to see how automation could benefit them without the commitment. In this setting, other companies with minimal if any expertise get the unique opportunity for their decision makers to see a solution’s capabilities before being required to pay the final price tag.

Sometimes what the manufacturer produces is not plainly visible but it helps make the difference for others taking their own products to market. That’s the case with Polymer Chemistry Innovations, which has operations in Tucson and southeastern Texas. In its circles, it is well-known as the only commercial manufacturer of Aquazol®, whose viscosity varies greatly in four different grades to provide specialized performance in a range of industries.

But it’s Polymer Chemistry Innovations’ variety of specialty materials that have made it a partner for a number of products ultimately marketed by others. From dental adhesives to school glue, its products can be found in adhesive formulations around the globe while its polymers offer a range of advantages throughout ceramic and metal manufacturing. In addition, specialty biocompatible products are used for creating medical devices while polymers can be found in all layers of paper and packaging.

The manufacturing scene is very much alive and evolving in Arizona. And what is considered innovations today is laying the foundation for what lies ahead.

WITH A LITTLE HELP

Contract manufacturers work to guide a variety of clients to the finish line

While the goal of many manufacturers is to get their products— and their names—to stand out in the marketplace, there is another segment that operates under the radar. And that’s just fine with them.

Contract manufacturers in Arizona are in business to help others with the steps necessary for their ideas to see the light of day. Anonymity by design is part of the game.

From its North American headquarters in Prescott, CP Technologies serves customers that benefit from the intellectual property and system integration capabilities of its three brands: CP Technologies, CP Aeronautics and CP Systems. For example, CP Systems specializes in systems for commercial and industrial markets, including contract manufacturing support.

The three units’ efforts touch a variety of fields. Their work in robotic manufacturing has led to precision electronics components that reduce health and safety concerns for workers, as well as assist surgeons with life-saving procedures. On the other end of the spectrum is CP’s involvement with augmented and simulated reality experiences in immersion

and entertainment, such as 18-hole courses generated in the comfort of indoor venues and “4D” rides that take riders on adventures through time and space.

Back in Phoenix, Latham Industries has become the preferred U.S. electronics contract manufacturer for innovative industrial companies needing printed circuit board (PCB) assemblies, including surface mount, plated-through-hole and mixed technology.

This woman-owned business has a team whose efforts include design and engineering, materials management, component placement, testing and inspection, rework and repair. Customers served represent fields such as aerospace, commercial, medical, military and security.

Tempe is home to the U.S. facility of DSM (Dynamic Source Manufacturing), a contract manufacturer that offers advanced quick-turn prototyping capabilities and production services, including volume manufacturing, testing, component sourcing and electronics box build assembly.

DSM uses its expertise to serve the communications, energy, emerging technologies, industrial, automotive, and security and defense industries.

This is a just a sample of members of this quiet community at work behind the scenes. But the services they provide to the manufacturing industry in Arizona and beyond speak volumes.

CP Technolgies designs, fabricates and integrates computing platforms for military, industry, and commercial applications.

FLYING START

Each year, the Arizona Commerce Authority’s Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC) awards up to $150,000 to the most innovative companies seeking to commercialize new technology that creates sustainable and growing businesses in the state of Arizona.

Winning companies leverage the awards to grow their businesses and facilitate the state’s economic development goals. The AIC has been serving Arizona’s startup ecosystem since 2011, resulting in more than 2,000 applications and 125 awarded companies that are driving Arizona’s innovation ecosystem forward.

529 college savings plans are used by about one in three U.S. students (mostly ages 21 and younger) and are tax-free when used for the intended purpose of education, including tuition, room and board, textbooks, and even off-campus monthly rent and groceries.

“It was in the discussions with college-age kids and their parents, and we started hitting on a very common theme: More and more of them had 529 plans, and they expressed frustration with the hassle of actually using them,” Thiessen says.

EduFi was named a 2022 awardee of the Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC), the Arizona Commerce Authority’s (ACA) business-plan competition for emerging tech-and-innovation startups. The company plans to use the $150,000 AIC grant for marketing in preparation of a wide-scale launch in August.

Enabling quick, easy and optimal use of college savings plans

For the millions of families who have made college more affordable through 529 savings plans—yet have found those plans to be cumbersome—now there is an easy solution.

Enter Arizona startup EduFi, a specialized debit card and nofee mobile app that allows the immediate withdrawal of funds without having to fill out paperwork, provide receipts or lay out cash and wait for reimbursement.

EduFi co-founders Schyler Thiessen and Jo Halsey both experienced the challenges of 529 plans with their own children. Together, they created EduFi to make using the popular college savings accounts less expensive, less stressful and more convenient.

Thiessen of Alamo, Calif., who worked as a bank executive, decided in 2019 that he was going to start out on his own. An ACA adviser connected Thiessen with Halsey, who is a 25-year technology veteran.

The two clicked and began having discussions about their experiences using 529 college savings plans.

Thiessen says Arizona’s startup community is refreshing and collaborative, adding that most everybody he has met has wanted to help EduFi meets its goals. “It’s not California,” he says. “The environment in Arizona is so much more conducive to starting a company.

“Whereas my limited experience in California is much more cutthroat, and it’s just not as friendly and open in terms of the (Arizona) startup ecosystem,” Thiessen added. “That was one of my first kind of ‘wow’ moments, when I went to one of the ACA events and just everybody there was so open and genuine.”.

We are proud to feature five of the 2022 Arizona Innovation Challenge awardees. We will feature the remaining five awardees in the next issue of TechConnect.

Co-Founders Jo Halsey (left) and Schyler Thiessen

Saving energy with smarter windows

Christopher Angelo takes inspiration from what he calls the greatest energy story never told.

In the 1970s, the federal government sponsored research to support the creation of energy-efficient glass. The first building codes to set standards for energy-efficient windows went into effect in the early ’80s. Today, dual-pane glass has a market share exceeding 90%.

“The point here is that the Department of Energy hit a home run. Dual-pane windows achieved both climate impact and market adoption,” Angelo says. “We want to repeat it.”

“We” is dimmable-glass manufacturer Glass Dyenamics, a 2022 awardee of the Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC), the Arizona Commerce Authority’s business-plan competition for innovative startups.

Angelo co-founded the company with inventors John Cronin and Anoop Agrawal. Angelo’s background is on Wall Street and in the solar industry. Cronin and Agrawal co-invented the technology that allows rear-view mirrors to dim automatically to reduce headlight glare.

“There’s been no application of this technology for architectural use because the chemistry hadn’t been figured out how to work during the day,” Angelo says. “What we figured out was how to do it, which requires advancements in materials durability.”

The product they’ve developed promises up to 20% homeenergy savings.

An electrical charge, sent via a wall switch or mobile phone app, changes the tint in the glass. In the summer, a darker tint can reduce solar heat gain by over 50%. In the winter, clear glass allows solar heat in.

Three companies have developed dimmable glass products based on similar technology and they sell to the commercial building sector, but Glass Dyenamics’ advanced and differentiated technology enables residential market entry.

It’s where the bigger energy challenges are, Angelo explains. “Residential customers use 40% more electricity and spend 70% more on electricity than the commercial market. The residential market also has a greater energy peak-demand problem than the commercial market, which the DOE is trying to manage as EV adoption and related early-evening electricity demand grows,” he says.

Glass Dyenamics, partnering with the Department of Energy under one of its five DOE awards, has demonstrated the product durability, and the first residential installation was in Bend, Oregon, in May 2022.

The company’s dynamic glass also benefits from federal government actions. Inflation Reduction Act provisions include tax credits good for up to 50% of an installation’s cost. That makes the cost of Glass Dyenamics’s products the same as or less than standard double-paned glass. Building energy codes such as EnergyStar now include dynamic glazing.

The company will market through two channels: the traditional method of working with an insulated glassmaker that supplies door and window manufacturers; and in a novel way, selling directly to consumers.

“When customers see our glass tint from clear to dark, the immediate response is ‘Wow, that’s so cool!’” Angelo says, explaining the AIC award will help them with direct-to-consumer sales channels.

It was natural for the company to start in Arizona. Cronin and Agrawal have been based in Tucson for 30 years, going back to their auto-dimming glass R&D center there. Arizona also has a vibrant manufacturing ecosystem and favorable commercial environment, Angelo says.

“When you have a startup with a long-term product and market vision, part of being a leader is standing out in front, alone and exposed to complete failure,” Angelo says. “Then when you see daily technical and commercial successes along with the Department of Energy and the state of Arizona get behind what we’re about, it’s really confidence-building and a force multiplier. We’re really excited about that and sharing where we are today and where we’re going with the state of Arizona.”

Co-founder Christopher Angelo

Developing games, building stronger teams

Lauren Fitzpatrick Shanks was a rarity when she graduated from The University of Kansas with a degree in aerospace engineering: a black, millennial woman in a field dominated by men.

“When I entered the workforce, I had to build deeper connections because people couldn’t understand my (cultural) experience,” she says. “The relationship aspect, networking and creating allies is so important on the journey to success.”

That early work experience evolved into the key principles behind creation of her game-centric development program, KeepWOL. The next-gen HR platform combines live multiplayer games, AI technology, and end-to-end learning integration to deeply understand how employees think and what influences their decisions.

The company is a 2022 awardee of the Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC), the Arizona Commerce Authority’s business-plan competition for innovative startups. With two full-time employees and 10 contractors, KeepWOL raised $600,000 in its pre-seed round in July 2022.

KeepWOL—the last three letters stand for Wondering Out Loud—uses live, interactive psychology-based games that owe some inspiration to “truth or dare.” It offers 17 games in the areas of engagement and morale; diversity and inclusion; team development; professional development; and leadership development. The company can create custom games on request.

Players receive points for being open, transparent and vulnerable in how they answer ambiguous questions. For instance, in “Going Beyond Inclusion,” a player might be asked to name a common assumption people have about them and whether it is true.

“On a surface level, they can answer that they’re an extrovert, or go deeper by saying people assume they can easily be walked over and give an example,” Shanks says. “They choose where to go.”

Some people may not want to be vulnerable at work. That’s why the open-ended questions allow for a wide variety of answers. Part of the game, though, includes follow-up questions to get to an understanding of the context of the answer. “We want to open minds to the idea that the more you share, the more others will, and the more you can understand each other,” she says. The company introduced its product through open, free sessions. Word of mouth spread from there, and KeepWOL now includes several Forbes 500 firms among its clients.

“One of the comments we keep hearing from end users is that they value that it’s an ‘HR-y thing’ that they actually look forward to doing,” Shanks says. “I didn’t look forward to doing things required by HR. I was an employee who worked in five companies who saw the same problems that weren’t being solved.”

AIC has been valuable in introducing her to local tech-startup founders and leaders, a network that was out-of-reach as she started the company during the pandemic.

As a relative newcomer to the state—she and her husband, a Boeing engineer, moved here in 2016 —Shanks says it was natural to start KeepWOL in Arizona rather than Silicon Valley for the benefits of employment law and tax policy here. The weather is a benefit, too, helping to attract young talent.

“We are a human-centric tech company,” Shanks says. “The community and atmosphere make Arizona a great starting ground for new hires.”

Founder and CEO Lauren Fitzpatrick Shanks

Advancing youth financial education

Borne of the COVID-19 school shutdown when families suddenly found themselves in close quarters, two former attorneys and Phoenix moms searched for ways to incentivize their children to do more chores and earn the things they wanted. They discovered their kids did not understand money, with one even finding allowance money in her dryer’s lint filter.

They commiserated during a camping trip and when they got home to search online for a program to help them, they were surprised to find little about financial literacy for young children. That became the inspiration of Arizona startup My First Nest Egg The company partners with financial institutions to deliver a proprietary financial literacy curriculum providing elementary and middle school-aged children with the knowledge they need to be successful with money.

An easy-to-use app offers a smart piggy bank, a gamified chore and allowance experience, and one money lesson a day. They also provide educational videos and helpful articles for parents.

“When the kids were sent home from school during COVID, we saw gaps in their education. For us, it was that our kids did not understand money,” says Nicolle Hood, co-founder and CEO. “We realized that our increasingly digital world had robbed them of the opportunities we had to experience and interact with money.”

They realized their children did not have a place to spend their allowance money, so it didn’t have the same value for them. “Most of our kids were purchasing or asking us to purchase on their behalf through Amazon, with a click of a button and a magical delivery,” Hood says.

She and her co-founder and COO, Annie Shoen, realized that if they were going to give their children healthy money habits, they had to do it in a fun digital environment.

The pair hired a no-code app developer, Adam Parish, and began testing the platform. Instantly, people raved about their children’s newfound motivation seeking chores to earn money.

The duo entered the Arizona Commerce Authority 2022 Arizona Innovation Challenge and were selected among the state’s top 10 emerging tech-and-innovation startups awarded a $150,000 grant. They intend to use the money to improve their platform, marketing, rebranding and enhancing their “Sobre Mesa” Spanish-language version, which means “family time spent around the table.”

Hood, who is Hispanic, says she would like people to talk freely about money with their children, including saving, good ways to spend, and using money to build generational wealth.

The moms met when Shoen moved to Arizona and both families were paired by their children’s school.

Shoen, a former deputy district attorney and mom of four, spent years litigating violent crime and elder physical/financial abuse, and has seen what inadequacies in childhood education can produce. “That made me very passionate about helping people through early childhood education,” Shoen says.

Hood, mom of three, is a former corporate attorney. The cofounder says they are big fans of the Arizona startup ecosystem. “It was incredible exposure and mentorship. No one would have heard about us without the amazing ecosystem that the ACA has in place to take non-traditional startups and put them in the public eye and provide homegrown support,” Hood says.

Nicolle Hood, co-founder and CEO (left), and Annie Shoen, co-founder and COO

AI-powered agricultural robot helps farmers

Bluetooth engineer Raghu Nandivada grew up in a farming family in rural India, where his mother worked. A few years ago, she challenged him come up with an invention to ease the burden on farmers.

At first, he resisted because he did not feel equipped. Her response was, “Well, can you try?”

That was the question that drove him and eventually sparked the creation of Padma AgRobotics, named after his mother.

The Arizona State University graduate joined forces with Cole Brauer of Mesa, whom he met during an ASU Startup Tree entrepreneurial program. Together, Nandivada and Brauer, a robotics engineer, created an AI-powered agricultural robot to help farmers significantly increase their yield and decrease costs to weed and thin their vegetable crops.

They entered an ASU Venture Devils startup contest with a proof of concept and won a grant that kick-started their effort. Nandivada and Brauer then began testing their machine at the Maricopa Agricultural Center, a 2,100-acre research farm that is part of The University of Arizona. After more than a year of design and testing, the robot was ready to operate in extreme outdoor weather conditions.

When Nandivada began visiting farmers and touring their operations, he quickly realized this was more than an opportunity, but something that “needed to be done.”

Minimum wage increases, overhead costs of immigration and the global labor shortage have all combined to hurt the farm industry. Padma AgRobotics seeks to mitigate those challenges.

“Farming is a very labor-intensive process and this is one of the biggest concerns for farmers, by far,” Nandivada says, adding they often are forced to reduce their acreage because of the labor shortage.

The semi-autonomous machine run by one technician can do the work of 20 to 30 laborers on kale and lettuce farms, reducing costs by 60% annually. With a small footprint—8 feet by 4 feet and 3 feet high—the machine can be housed in a residential garage.

During the COVID-19 shutdown, the Chandler resident attended the Arizona Commerce Authority’s (ACA) online, small-business bootcamps and learned about startup strategies and developing financial models.

Armed with that valuable knowledge, Padma AgRobotics entered the ACA’s 2022 Arizona Innovation Challenge and became one of its 10 startup awardees. Winners each receive a $150,000 grant to help commercialize technology and grow their companies in Arizona.

Padma AgRobotics plans to use the grant for a workshop in Mesa to build more machines, store them and hire interns. It now has two machines in operation and is building more to help Yuma and Imperial Valley, California, farmers, who collectively farm more than 172,000 acres.

Padma AgRobotics provides the robots as a rental service, akin to a landscaping service and charges a service fee of about $200 per acre.

“ACA has helped grow a great ecosystem in Arizona,” he says. “It’s a collaborative entrepreneurial community. They try to encourage you to grow and help you find the right people.”

Co-founder Cole Brauer

Co-founder Raghu Nandivada

MAKING A MARK

ASU debuts manufacturing engineering doctoral program

BY SONA SRINARAYANA

intelligence, new material processing technologies, supply chain interests and a rising focus on sustainable practices.

As the first school in the United States to offer three degrees in manufacturing engineering—bachelor’s, master’s and newly launched doctoral—the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks at Arizona State University is becoming a premier destination for manufacturing engineering.

“We have completed the trifecta in manufacturing engineering education at ASU,” says Binil Starly, professor and director of the school that is part of ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.

Enrollment in the manufacturing engineering doctoral degree is now open after opening its doors last fall. Students in the program can expect to be at the leading edge of manufacturing research and collaborate with key industry partners through research, as well as a direct pathway to industry application.

The school is offering a curriculum packed with project-based courses focused on addressing problems and developing solutions with interdisciplinary manufacturing knowledge.

Dhruv Bhate, an associate professor and program chair for the new manufacturing engineering doctoral program, believes American manufacturing is at an inflection point and that amplified education is a critical piece in supporting the overall manufacturing landscape.

Bhate says.

He adds that there are multiple factors that have brought American manufacturing to the limelight, such as artificial

“Traditionally, manufacturing R&D teams have relied on mechanical, materials, chemical, industrial and software engineers working together,” Bhate says. “We believe that unlocking innovation in the future will rely on a fundamental interdisciplinary understanding of these topics.”

The School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks is collaborating with industry partners—including PADT, FANUC, Rockwell Automation, Honeywell, Intel and Lallemand Baking— on various manufacturing projects and initiatives. Strategic partnerships like these enable companies to recruit talent into their facilities and fast-track innovative manufacturing solutions.

Students in the manufacturing doctoral program also will have an opportunity to learn and collaborate in a new Center of Excellence at ASU’s Polytechnic campus launching in 2023. The center will house millions of dollars worth of robotics equipment and facilitate opportunities in manufacturing research, industry training, education, and community upskilling and reskilling. The manufacturing engineering doctoral program is currently supported by 15 faculty members who actively conduct research. There are plans to grow to 30 to 35 research-active faculty and enroll 140 to 160 doctoral students in the next five years.

In addition to the manufacturing engineering doctoral degree, the school plans to launch revamped bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in manufacturing engineering in fall 2024.

“We are pushing the boundaries of manufacturing education in this country,” Starly says. “Resources put in place by our school, the state and community partners will enable our students and faculty to make manufacturing advancem¬ents that haven’t yet been defined.”

“Nationally, there is a renewed commitment to the advanced manufacturing sector and an appreciation about its importance to our economy, national security and societal resilience,”

Sona Srinarayana is on the marketing and communications team of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University.

Assistant professor Bruno Azeredo (left) and Emmanuel Dasinor, a mechanical engineering graduate research assistant, at the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks

STIMULATING MANUFACTURING

Innovation comes alive at MADE Science and Technology Center plans for further processing,” Hsu says. “This technology will create a process that is more energy efficient, cost-effective and accessible.”

Arizona State University labs are collaborating with local businesses to establish advanced methods within the manufacturing industry. This opportunity has been made possible via efforts in ASU’s Manufacturing, Automation and Data Engineering (MADE) Science and Technology Center (STC) to invest in the state’s future economic growth through engineering and technology innovation.

The MADE STC was designed to use ASU’s faculty expertise to generate novel manufacturing technologies and elevate engineering industries using data analytics and AI.

MADE has begun its first two projects with PADT, which centers on sustainable practices and efficiency. The first project addresses optimizing uptake of materials in manufacturing processes. The second is producing artificial intelligence-based software that can generate solutions for production processes.

The scope of both projects was determined by Rey Chu, PADT’s principal and co-owner. He and his team of two other PADT engineers were paired with ASU faculty to enable a collaborative space for ideas to transform into concepts that can eventually be commercialized.

Associate professor Keng Hsu of the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks, one of the seven schools in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU, will lead one of the two projects in his Manufacturing Innovation Lab. He will work with graduate research associate M. Faisal Riyad and postdoctoral research scholar Pu Han in this effort.

The project will aim to develop technology in the aerospace industry that can turn unused materials into useful feedstock for other operations in manufacturing.

“Currently, residual materials go through either expensive processes for recycling or are stored at warehouses with no

Hsu and his team aim to “gain as much feasibility knowledge as possible in phase one” and based on what they learn, move into phase two and beyond.

The second of the two projects is being led by assistant professors Andi Wang and Hyungwoong Ko of the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks. The project will involve a team of students, ranging from undergraduate participants in the Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative to doctoral candidates. Wang and Ko will use AI-based software that functions as an advisor that can analyze a product design’s feasibility before the manufacturing process starts. By instituting this review stage, PADT can consult with manufacturers to reduce cost and waste.

“The AI makes models based on real-world data that can predict aspects of additive manufacturing products,” Wang and Ko write. “Using predictive knowledge, the practitioner can select the appropriate machines or materials and modify their designs for high-value manufacturing applications before a large defective batch is fabricated. This research seeks to find AI-driven solutions that can make anticipatory predictions and achieve born-qualified products.”

Binil Starly, the school’s inaugural director, is optimistic about MADE’s future. He envisions the two projects initiating a domino effect of opportunity and attracting more funding from private and federal sources.

“An outcome beyond the technical success of the STC projects is to build relationships with companies, develop human capital and enable new advanced manufacturing technology ecosystems connecting businesses,” he says.

Sona Srinarayana is on the marketing and communications team of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University.

Graduate research associate M. Faisal Riyad uses 3D printing technology in the Manufacturing Innovation Lab BY SONA SRINARAYANA

A SPACE TO GROW PROFESSIONALLY

To the classroom and beyond: Building improved spaceflight hardware at NAU

BY KATHRYN

Covered in “bunny suits” from head to toe, 27 Northern Arizona University students have been hard at work in a cleanroom designing, fabricating and testing a new dual-wavelength camera system.

The hardware one day could be part of a new generation of small interplanetary NASA missions, such as the upcoming Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) smallsatellite mission slated to launch in 2024.

The students are on a multidisciplinary team led by associate professor Christopher Edwards and co-led by professor David Trilling, postdoctoral scholar Chris Haberle and associate professor Michael Shafer.

The project began in 2022 when Robert Lillis of the University of California, Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory, the principal investigator for ESCAPADE, discussed with Edwards what a student-led camera might look like for inclusion on a small interplanetary spacecraft mission.

NASA commonly collaborates with universities to offer opportunities to include student spaceflight hardware projects in high-fidelity planetary science missions. To prove the feasibility of this instrument, the team is diligently working to meet NASA’s rigorous criteria for spaceflight hardware.

“It’s been fantastic working with the NAU team on this groundbreaking program. If VISIONS can be accommodated on the ESCAPADE twin spacecraft with low risk, we’ll be excited to not only see the first student-built space camera to go beyond Earth orbit but also the first broadband thermal IR images from Mars,” says Lillis.

The NAU dual-wavelength cameras—dubbed VISIONS (VISible and Infrared ObservatioN System)—would simultaneously capture

three-band RGB (true color) data and surface temperatures on the planet under investigation. For inclusion on a mission to Mars, VISIONS has been designed to capture full-disk images— images of the entire planet at once—multiple times per day, given its wide field of view.

“These unique datasets would enable us to observe globalregional scale events in a single snapshot, which is often difficult to obtain given the polar orbits of existing spacecraft,” Edwards says.

The primary goal of this project is to educate and train the next generation of scientists and engineers to design, build and operate spaceflight hardware that meets NASA requirements and standards—experience graduates don’t usually have when entering the aerospace workforce. “This project offers an exceptional opportunity for students to get hands-on spaceflight instrument development experience,” Edwards says.

According to Trilling, camera systems like this would normally cost NASA $5 million to $7 million to develop. “We’re trying to develop a new, inexpensive, small camera system that will be fully tested to work reliably in space,” he says.

In November, the team will begin the challenging system integration and test phase for the instruments, simulating the harsh launch and space environments.

“We’re working to flip the model of how spaceflight hardware is developed,” Edwards says, “by using a combination of lowcost, commercially available sensor and optics technology with custom-built interface electronics and structural housings. Within a couple of years, if we meet all the requirements and if we are approved by NASA and the ESCAPADE project, cameras built and tested by NAU students could be in orbit around Mars.”

Kathryn Wall is senior digital content creator and Kerry Bennett is a science writer for Northern Arizona University.

WALL + KERRY BENNETT

Christopher Edwards, associate professor of astronomy and planetary science, works with a team of students in a cleanroom on the campus.

TAKING SHAPE

working with staff and mentors through a 27-point roadmap designed for startup success.

Paramium Technologies is on a mission to answer the need for better solutions to connect the Earth with space using advanced manufacturing methods that produce high-quality optical systems.

The company can inexpensively produce highly customized curved reflectors with a new precision molding method that researchers at The University of Arizona invented to create custom shapes without relying on expensive machined molds.

With this industry 4.0 manufacturing system, Paramium Technologies will supply computer-optimized aluminum dishes for radio astronomy and satellite communication. The company is in the process of scaling up the first industrial-scale reflector manufacturing system targeting the space exploration and satellite communications industries.

To help support this effort, the startup was recently awarded a grant from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). After successfully completing the first phase funded with $250,000, Paramium received an additional $1 million to build a full-scale commercial production line.

Paramium Technologies grew out of innovations developed at UArizona’s James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences, College of Engineering and the Steward Observatory associated with the College of Science.

University researchers worked with Tech Launch Arizona, the commercialization arm of the University, to protect the intellectual property, strategize, form Paramium Technologies and license the technology to the company. In February 2021, the company joined The University of Arizona Center for Innovation, the university’s incubator network, to advance its business by

Next-generation satellite applications are imperative to the future of digital communications. Satellites are getting smaller and smarter, and the way information is transmitted pushes the limits of allocated radio frequencies.

New technologies are required to achieve faster and stronger communications between ground stations and satellites. In order to increase the data transmission rates, satellite suppliers need precision custom reflector shapes that are difficult to manufacture using current technologies.

With the additional NSF funding, Paramium Technologies will expand U.S. manufacturing of cost-effective compound curve reflectors for ground stations. This will enable the use of advanced optical configurations designed using state-of-the-art optics software, like the off-axis reflector systems engineered for modern radio telescopes like the Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) in satellite ground stations.

“We are excited to launch this technology that will expand scientific discovery and allow higher data rates for satellite communication, connecting more people to space and across our world,” says Justin Hyatt, UArizona senior research associate and Paramium Technologies co-founder.

“We are now facing a great opportunity to participate in the manufacturing of the reflectors for a major radio astronomy project, and we will do everything it takes to make it possible,” says co-founder Christian Davila-Peralta.

The company is preparing the requirements to pursue venture capital funding to expand operations.

Roslyn Norman is chief operations officer of Paramium Technologies.

Funding supports way to create precision satellite reflectors

BY ROSLYN NORMAN Paramium Technologies’ process line

ADDITION, SUBTRACTION

Printing techniques equal ways for students to produce items

BY MATTHEW PRATER

Digital maker and fabrication is a method of designing and producing items using computer technology. The technology can be additive, indicating items are created by adding material through means such as a fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printer, or subtractive, which means material is removed with the router bit of a computerized numerical control (CNC) machine.

As digital technology rapidly advances, custom objects can be produced cheaper, faster and with greater detail—all starting with just an idea.

Students at University of Advancing Technology (UAT) have a variety of degree and course options to gain hands-on experience as they learn using advancements in technology. Whether they choose the robotics and embedded systems degree or digital maker and fabrication degree, students cover topics including circuit boards, embedded programming, and prototyping.

Much like software design, digital maker and fabrication has a toolchain for creating components. The initial idea is placed on “virtual paper” using computer-aided design (CAD) software such as Fusion360, SOLIDWORKS or FreeCAD.

The idea can be refined and tested using simulations in the same CAD software to consider properties such as fabrication materials and stresses. The CAD software allows an object to be created digitally and prepares it for the next step.

3D printing has become quite prevalent in producing objects, especially prototypes in which a single run item can be produced quickly and cheaply then be tested using a real-world application.

The next phase of the toolchain for 3D printing is slicing. The item can be imported into the slicing software, usually as an STL file from the CAD software. The slicing software separates the design into layers based on the 3D printing technology utilized.

FFF prints from the ground up, using melted material and relying on gravity and pressure from squeezing the molten material onto the build plate or other layers to hold the layers together.

Stereolithography (SLA) uses light to solidify UV active resin by shining UV light in patterns from below a tank filled with resin. The build plate is lifted one layer level above the bottom of the tank and the final object is produced hanging from the bottom of the build plate.

SLA printing can have much smaller layers, producing objects with much greater detail than FFF printing. But FFF has much greater variation in printing materials and tends to produce faster.

CNC machining is a subtractive process that uses a tool such as a router bit to remove material from a solid block. The toolpath—the path a tool needs to make the object—can be generated by a CAD program. Once generated, the toolpath code is loaded onto the CNC and the router starts to work.

These applications can even be adapted to create printed circuit boards. At UAT, students create printed circuit boards (PCBs) using a CNC. Additive PCB synthesis is available with technology pioneered by firms like Voltera.

At UAT, students create projects with FFF and SLA 3D printers, CNCs and PCBs to prepare them for technology careers.

Matthew Prater is a professor of robotics and embedded systems, and digital maker and fabrication at the University of Advancing Technology.

Matthew Prater (left) with one of his students

IN THE RIGHT PLACE

App guides healthy rotation of insulin pumps, sensors for diabetics

A new phone app developed by researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), part of City of Hope, and the Mayo Clinic can help people with type 1 diabetes safely rotate the placement of their insulin pumps and glucose monitors.

The app, tested in people with type 1 diabetes who use continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion pumps, led to 84% compliance with site rotation recommendations, the researchers reported in the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology.

Rotating the sites on the skin where pumps and monitors are placed helps patients avoid a complication called lipid hypertrophy, an abnormal accumulation of fat deposits under the skin. Along with skin irritation, this condition can interfere with insulin absorption, leading to poor glucose management.

“Despite the importance of site rotation, most studies show that patients with type 1 diabetes consistently rotate sites less than 60% of the time,” says Sampath Rangasamy, TGen research associate professor in neurogenomics and co-senior author of the paper. “Many patients do not know about the consequences of not switching sites, but around 40% of people develop lipohypertrophy, which impacts insulin absorption and increases insulin need.”

To help patients keep better track of their infusion and monitoring sites, Rangasamy and colleagues developed Insulin Site Guide, an app for the iPhone and iPad.

Patients record the placement of injections, infusions and monitoring on the app. When the patient is ready to place the device, the app shows which sites on their body are available for placement and which should be “resting” before returning to the rotation of available sites.

The app offers a color-coded diagram of the body, showing “available” placement sites as blue and “unavailable or in use” sites as pink or red. When an unavailable site has rested long enough, it returns to blue to show its renewed availability.

Dr. Bithika M. Thompson, an endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic and co-senior author on the paper says, “Color coding was one of the ways the research team tried to make the app more userfriendly, especially as some older patients with type 1 diabetes experience vision problems.”

The patients in the study used the app for five weeks then completed a survey about using the app. Ten patients using an insulin pump and glucose monitor tested the app and provided compliance data.

The researchers are seeking funding for a larger clinical trial of the Insulin Site Guide app to test its potential impact on site rotation.

Type 1 diabetes affects 1.84 million people in the United States. Continuous insulin infusion pumps have become increasingly popular among type 1 diabetes patients, as the devices become smaller and less expensive.

Data gleaned from the app could also help researchers better understand how different sites in different patients absorb insulin, says Thompson.

This data could be useful in building better artificial pancreas algorithm, which Rangasamy called the next step in treating type 1 diabetes. The researchers also are examining molecular biomarkers in patients with type 1 diabetes that will help understand injuries at the site of insulin injection or infusion.

Research funding for the study comes from the Flinn Foundation.

TGen research associate professor Sampath Rangasamy

A FIRST IN ARIZONA

BY STEVE YOZWIAK

HonorHealth Research Institute implants state-of-the-art modified pacemaker system

Doctors at HonorHealth Research Institute have for the first time implanted into the heart of an Arizona patient a potentially lifesaving device designed to painlessly reset the rhythm of the heart when it starts beating wildly out of control during ventricular fibrillation.

Biomedical science has been improving heart implants— pacemakers—since 1958 to keep the heart beating regularly and maintain proper blood circulation.

Over the past two years, many HonorHealth Research Institute patients have been implanted with the Boston Scientific EMBLEM™ Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator (S-ICD) system, a proven treatment option for patients at risk of sudden cardiac arrest that leaves the heart and vasculature untouched. This eliminates many of the complications associated with conventional transvenous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (TV-ICD), which uses leads, or wires.

But patients don’t always need a full electrical shock to reset their heartbeats, and patients have expressed concern about the potential surprise and pain that might be associated with a full electric shock.

Now, HonorHealth Research Institute doctors are implanting a second Boston Scientific device, a leadless pacemaker, into the heart’s right ventricle, the chamber of the heart that pumps blood directly to the lungs.

The EMPOWER™ Modular Pacing System (MPS) is the size of a AAA battery and delivers anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP), a therapy designed to terminate potentially deadly episodes of fast, abnormal heart rates. It delivers ATP through several low energy electrical pulses designed to stimulate the heart and return the heartbeat to a stable rhythm.

The MPS implant communicates wirelessly with the S-ICD to form the mCRM™ Modular Therapy System. If MPS fails in using ATP to restore a proper heartbeat, the S-ICD is activated to deliver a full electrical shock.

That provides peace of mind for Adam Boas of Maricopa, the first Arizonan to receive the new EMPOWER MPS pacemaker. At 37, Boas was working at a job in information technology when he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and woke up in HonorHealth’s Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center.

After an initial stay of nearly three weeks, an S-ICD featuring a small power pack and electrode was implanted under his chest skin. The system is designed to shock his heart back into rhythm if it ever starts beating out of control, a prospect that worried Boas.

“I haven’t been shocked yet, thankfully. I’ve been terrified of being shocked. Having the new (MPS) pacemaker takes a lot of anxiety away from me. It would work to get my heart back to a normal pacing without having the threat of a shock,” says Boas, now 40.

If his heart ever falls out of rhythm, he says, “I might feel lightheaded, but I probably won’t even know it’s happening. It takes a huge weight off my shoulders, knowing that it would be much less traumatic not only for me but probably for the people around me if the (MPS) pace therapy activates.”

Dr. Thomas Mattioni is a cardiac electrophysiologist who implanted the MPS device into Boas’ heart on Jan. 23 at HonorHealth Research Institute.

“While a shock can be painful, ATP delivery through a pacemaker is not painful and usually is not felt at all,” says Mattioni, an investigator on the ongoing MODULAR ATP clinical trial to test the safety and effectiveness of the two coordinated devices.

Steve Yozwiak is the senior research science writer at HonorHealth Research Institute.

Adam Boas (left) is welcomed back to HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center by his surgeon, Dr. Thomas Mattioni.

NEW MEMBERS

ALERTGPS has a cloud-based portal and wearable devices that provide alerting, location monitoring, communication and emergency response to mobile workers under an integrated system. www.alertgps.com

ALL POINTS LOGISTICSMARS SUITE DIVISION is a leader in solutions development and systems integration in high risk, security sensitive, missioncritical domains such as space prep, space, defense, and cyber. www.allpointsllc.com

AMAZON strives to be Earth’s most customer-centric company where people can find and discover virtually anything they want to buy online by giving customers more of what they want. www.amazon.com

ANALYTIC ERA is an IT solutions and services company specializing in software development, business analytics, cloud migrations and Salesforce CRM integrations. www.analyticera.io

ARIZONA VENTURE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION backs exceptional entrepreneurs with bold ideas, helping to catalyze equity for underserved founders and communities. azventurecap.com

ASTRONOMICAL CONSULTANTS & EQUIPMENT specializes in fully integrated turnkey observatory systems for the modern research and public education facility. It invites inquiries for systems in the 0.5-m to 2.0-m aperture range. www.astronomical.com

AZ 3D PRINT offers rapid prototype to short-run production in design engineering, manufacturing engineering, aerospace engineering, value engineering, project management and CAD design. az3dprint.com

BLACK MOUNTAIN INVESTMENT

COMPANY has formed key strategic alliances in the marketplace that create a stable platform from which the company sources quality deals, analyzes risk and increases profits. www.blackmtnco.com

BLOCKDRIVE is a no code data quality tool that eliminates the heavy lifting of data cleansing. Leverage the power of AI to find data issues in just minutes. www.blockdrive.com

BLUFISH DESIGN STUDIO is an award-winning, full-service ad agency fueled by the power of good ideas in marketing, branding, digital, social media and so much more. blufish.com

CAPFI CONSULTING finds cost-saving opportunities to help improve your company’s bottom line and employees’ health. www.capficonsulting.com

CARBON UTILITY partners with commercial customers to lower their carbon footprint and meet carbon reduction goals by capturing CO2 from the atmosphere to create lowcarbon consumer products. www.carbonutility.com

CEREBRUM provides laboratory information management systems that optimize laboratory testing workflows. www.cerebrumcorp.com

CHIEF OUTSIDERS partners with CEOs to quickly employ battletested CMOs and CSOs as Strategic Operators™ to build and execute their growth engines. chiefoutsiders.com

COBALT ROBOTICS is on a mission to elevate the work that people do by training machines to do boring tasks better. www.cobaltrobotics.com

CO.INNOVATION CONSULTING helps organizations in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors use collaborative innovation to devise winning strategies and solutions. www.coinnovationconsulting.com

COMPOZE LABS is a software consulting firm that specializes in integrations by using its Compoze Tech to create secure, robust, and scalable software ecosystems for clients. www.compozelabs.com

CONEXO.CASA is a managed service provider of smart home and support services enabling extended independent living for the disabled and elderly. conexo.casa

CYBERLOGIC SECURITY is a governance, risk and compliancefocused company with deep experience in every major industry. www.cyberlogicsecurity.com

CYVIG continuously assesses the effectiveness of clients’ security program to help them proactively build a more secure organization. www.cyvig.com

DAVIS SIGNS & GRAPHICS

creates and installs all types of custom business signs, including custom outdoor signs, indoor business signs and neon signs. davis-signs.com

DEVFOUNDRY is a custom software development, mobile application infrastructure and ERP/ CRM development and support services company. devfoundry.us

DIGIVID360 is a full-service, business-to-business marketing company with an emphasis on digital and video annual strategy. www.digivid360.com

DYOPATH works with the purpose of helping clients combat the ongoing increase of cyber threats, growth in more complex IT environments and ever-increasing human capital shortages. www.dyopath.com

ELEVATEIT delivers industry leading educational conferences and pairs IT & IS professionals with industry leaders throughout the country. www.eitevents.com

EMCORSOFT is a software development company that helps its clients connect with 100% remote software developers who could work as an extension of teams. emcorsoft.com

EXPERIENCE SCOTTSDALE

is a nonprofit that has contracts with Scottsdale and Town of Paradise Valley. www.experiencescottsdale.com

GOOGLE FIBER uses the latest technology, including fiber optic and millimeter wave, to deliver the very best internet to customers. fiber.google.com

GRANT THORNTON is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd., one of the world’s leading independent audit, tax and advisory firms. www.grantthornton.com

HEALTHTECH RESOURCES focuses on improving and implementing performance management systems in health care by providing IT staffing and consulting solutions to hospitals and health insurers nationwide.

www.healthtechresourcesinc.com

HINDUJA GROUP is the integrated product engineering and digital technologies solutions provider for the mobility industry with global delivery model.

www.hindujatech.com

IN8 SOLUTIONS is a full-service communications agency offering communications products and services from numerous communication service providers and carriers. in8solutions.com

IVELAH is a national security integrator that works closely with IT professionals to ensure physical security solutions work within organizations’ network typography and bandwidth requirements. www.ivelah.com

KEYSER is a world-class commercial real estate advisory firm that exclusively represents companies of office, industrial, retail, medical, education and non-profit space. www.keyser.com

KGB COMMUNICATIONS will give the peace of mind that clients’ business networks are running securely and optimally with minimized unscheduled downtime.

www.kgbcommunications.com

KITEROCKET is a PR and marketing agency with proven expertise in the fields of technology, technology manufacturing, sustainability, renewable energy and consumer lifestyle.

www.kiterocket.com

LATHAM INDUSTRIES is a womanowned and operated contract manufacturer that provides the highest-quality printed circuit board assembly for aerospace, medical, industrial and others.

www.lathamindustries.com

LISTENUP is the first geospatial audio app that tells you WHERE you are, WHEREVER you are and is based on a user-contributed web3 platform managed by a decentralized autonomous organization so storytellers can earn tokens.

www.joinlistenup.com/

MATRIX RESOURCES is one of the nation’s largest IT services firms offering client solutions from IT staffing and digital transformation to IT delivery and professional services. matrixres.com

MERCK EMD ELECTRONICS is a vibrant science and technology company.

www.emdgroup.com/en

MJS DESIGNS delivers high-quality engineering services, including circuit board design, fabrication, assembly and test.

www.mjsdesigns.com

NANO MATERIALS INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPS AND COMMERCIALIZES products based on nano materials and processes, such as aluminum diamond metal matrix composites thermal management applications in the electronics industry.

www.nanomaterials-intl.com

NAVAERA specializes in advanced knowledge management products and services designed to empower financial organizations to improve operational efficiency, manage risk and detect fraud.

www.navaera.com

NETSCOUT’s mission is to secure and assure the performance of digital ecosystems – across any application, any cloud, any data center. www.netscout.com

NEURODIVERSITY EDUCATION RESEARCH CENTER is independent nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving access to quality education and workforce development for neurodivergent humans. www.neurodiversitycenter.org

NEW GENESIS SOLUTIONS helps small and medium-sized organizations transform their IT and cyber security programs. newgenesissolutions.org

NEW HORIZONS COMPUTER LEARNING CENTERS empowers individuals and organizations worldwide through end-to-end learning solutions from IT training to business applications to leadership development. www.newhorizons.com

NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY’S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, INFORMATICS, AND APPLIED SCIENCES is designed for those who want an active role in where tomorrow takes us. nau.edu/ceias

PAIRA is a mobile search engine and marketing platform that helps small businesses connect with local customers and grow their revenue. www.paira.info

PARTNER ONE IT delivers enterprise level IT solutions through hands-on experience and focused project management skills that enable it to provide extensive solutions for businesses of any size. partneroneit.com

PIVIT partners with the top companies through professional recruiters with the skills it takes to help the companies make their next career move or build their business. www.pivitgrp.com

PURITY RESOURCE is a technology company enabling material-recovery processes for device manufacturers across multiple industries to establish sustainable practices. www.purityresource.com

RADIANT PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT’s mission is to partner with companies to develop innovative products to perform in the most challenging environments. www.radiantpd.com

RIDGETOP GROUP is a world leader in providing advanced condition-based maintenance (CBM), prognostic health management (PHM), and integrated vehicle health management (IVHM) solutions. www.ridgetopgroup.com

SEA-LAND CHEMICAL evolved from a reseller of fats and oils from the sea and the land into a global distributor of specialty chemical additives. www.sealandchem.com

SKY REPUBLIC provides blockchain automation for tomorrow’s digital supply chain. www.skyrepublic.com

STRAIGHT ENGINEERING researches, designs and develops high-precision instrumentation, complex automation and control systems. straightengineering.com

THE BOEING COMPANY is the world’s largest aerospace company and leading provider of commercial airplanes, defense, space and security systems, and global services. www.boeing.com

THE RFP SUCCESS COMPANY helps businesses create the kind of responses that capture the right attention and emotional connection while building trust. therfpsuccesscompany.com

VERSATERM PUBLIC SAFETY is changing the relationship between public safety agencies and their software providers by fueling the solutions of tomorrow and solving real problems with streamlining. www.versaterm.com

VIRGIN GALACTIC is an aerospace and space travel company pioneering human spaceflight for private individuals and researchers with advanced air and space vehicles. www.virgingalactic.com

WELLS FARGO provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance through more than 7,300 locations, 12,000 ATMs and the internet. www.wellsfargo.com

To join the Arizona Technology Council, the state’s premier trade association for science and technology companies across Arizona, visit www.aztechcouncil.org.

The Most Trusted Agency in Tech

Homegrown in Arizona

We work with today’s most innovative technology companies to create marketing strategies, cutting-edge content, and award-winning campaigns to help you stand out, win customers, and accelerate growth.

Relied on by more than a third of the Fortune 500 technology companies. You can trust us too.