Resilient Hybrid Electronics for Extreme/Harsh Environments

Dr. Amanda Schrand currently serves as a Senior Engineer and Group Leader for the development of resilient, hybrid additively manufactured electronics at the Munitions Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. She is the Principal Investigator for several Cross Service efforts on 3D printed conformal antennas, frequency selective surfaces, precision electrodes for fiber waveguides, pressure/temperature sensors, strain gauges and high voltage circuits to name a few. Her efforts in ceramics printing innovation have resulted in 2 patents with commercialization and licensing of the technology. Dr. Schrand received her doctoral degree (2007, GPA 4.0) in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Dayton with the dual support of the Dayton Area Graduate Studies Institute (DAGSI) and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) fellowships. She has fostered a multi-disciplinary career over the past 20 years to gain experience in a range of medical, science and engineering fields. Her written work has been published in many professional venues including Nature Protocols and her article on Additive Manufacturing in Defense is listed as required reading for the Air War College. She has been honored by many individual and team awards including the Team Eglin Women’s History Month Trailblazer award recognizing her contributions to leadership and mentorship. She is an active member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) professional society and recently began chairing the Women’s Panel on Career Development in RF Technology in addition to an International forum on Women in Additive Manufacturing in Italy and proposed collaborative work with the UK. Mr. Larry (LJ) R. Holmes Jr. is the Executive Director of Research and Engineering at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, where he leads the development and operation of an Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute. The mission of this academic institute is to create an interdisciplinary forum for bringing materials, processing, and manufacturing together by digital design and innovative manufacturing methods. Mr. Holmes left federal service in 2018 after 15 years at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL). His final posting at ARL was the Director of Research Partnerships and Communication for the ARL Center for Agile Materials Manufacturing Science (CAMMS). He was also the lead for ARL’s Hybrid Manufacturing research portfolio, including the management of materials and manufacturing science programs related to multi-material processing technologies for functional/multi-functional devices. Mr. Holmes is also the Director of Government Relations at nScrypt in Orlando, FL. nScrypt designs and manufactures high-precision micro-dispensing and direct digital manufacturing equipment with unmatched accuracy and flexibility. Mr. Holmes is also the Chief of Manufacturing at the Applied Science and Research Organization of America (ASTRO America). ASTRO America is a non-profit, non-partisan research institute and think tank dedicated to advancing public interest through manufacturing and technology. Eric MacDonald, Ph.D. is a professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering and Murchison Chair at the University of Texas at El Paso and serves as the Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies for the College of Engineering. Dr. MacDonald received his doctoral degree (2002) in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He worked in industry for 12 years at IBM and Motorola and subsequently co-founded a start-up specializing in CAD software and the startup was acquired by a firm in Silicon Valley. Dr. MacDonald held faculty fellowships at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, US Navy Research and was awarded a US State Department Fulbright Fellowship in South America. His research interests include 3D printed multi-functional applications and process monitoring in additive manufacturing with instrumentation and computer vision for improved quality and yield. As a co-founding editor of the Elsevier journal Additive Manufacturing, MacDonald has helped direct the academic journal to have highest impact factor among all manufacturing journals worldwide. He has recently been involved in the commissioning of a second partner journal, Additive Manufacturing Letters, upon which he serves as the Editor-in-Chief. Recent projects include 3D printing of structures such as nano satellites with structurally-embedded electronics - one of which was launched into Low Earth Orbit in 2013 and a replica of which was on display at the London Museum of Science. He has over 100 peer-reviewed publications, dozens of patents, one of which was licensed by Sony and Toshiba from IBM. He is a member of ASME, ASEE, senior member of IEEE and a registered Professional Engineer in the USA state of Texas.