ASTRO America Expands Bay County Team to Support Joint FSU InSPIRE Efforts
FSU’s Institute for Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Research, and Education (InSPIRE) announced Alex Riensche’s appointment to operate advanced manufacturing initiatives. He is currently leading the ASTRO | FSU InSPIRE 2026 Tech Challenge, now in its second year, where companies can compete on their distortion prediction and compensation abilities for laser-based powder bed fusion parts. Distortion prediction and geometry compensation techniques are vital for producing ultra high-performance equipment for aerospace and defense applications.
“While many of today’s tools tout the ability to predict and correct component distortions in powder bed fusion-made parts, end users often have little insight into the real-world accuracy and viability of those corrections,” said Abdalla Nassar, PhD, Vice President of ASTRO South for ASTRO America. “Companies who participate in this challenge can meticulously contrast and showcase their solutions in real-world settings, demonstrating their capabilities on industry-standard equipment creating parts that are commonly used in aerospace and defense.”
Aerospace and defense leaders including Boeing, GE Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX, and Siemens Energy will be influential in determining the most commercially viable and technically sound solution(s).
Alex Riensche Brings Deep Research Expertise in Additive Manufacturing, Simulation, Process Control, and Property Prediction in Aerospace and Defense.
Alex Riensche brings extensive experience to his role as Advanced Manufacturing Scientist with ASTRO America in support of InSPIRE. He has worked with modeling approaches to control thermal history and digital twin techniques to detect and control additive manufacturing (AM) part properties. His work on AM modeling and property predictions has been published in Additive Manufacturing, Materials and Design, International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, and Rapid Prototyping Journal, among others.
“This Tech Challenge is all part of a greater plan to accelerate new qualifications tools that help speed the adoption of laser powder bed fusion-based manufacturing that will ultimately improve our national supply chain resilience while strengthening our workforce across the region,” said FSU InSPIRE Executive Director, Drew Allen. “The unique ASTRO | FSU InSPIRE facility at Maritech Machine allows industry stakeholders to see how innovations impact an entire production workflow within a design-build-test environment, with specialized aerospace/defense experts weighing in on commercial viability.”
Companies will demonstrate and document their solutions to a team of engineers, scientists, and lead system integrators with experience in powder bed fusion produced parts. Testing will be conducted on a GE Concept Laser M2 with dual 400-W lasers using Inconel 718. Selected finalists will have the opportunity to present their technology to aerospace and defense companies, investment fund managers, and potential end users and partners.
“I’m excited join the joint ASTRO | FSU InSPIRE team, as we build out our advanced manufacturing capabilities,” added Riensche. “I’m also looking forward to working closely with the team to evaluate future additive manufacturing equipment and supporting the design of the advanced manufacturing and developmental testing/evaluation facility to be built near the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.”
Riensche joins the team from the Sooner Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory at the University of Oklahoma and is now based in Panama City, Florida. He received his doctorate in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech and his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical & Materials Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The Distortion Prediction and Compensation Showcase will be held in July/August 2026 where participants will present their technical solutions. Winners will be judged on accuracy and repeatability, calibration methods and applicable standards, business strategy and target markets, value vs. cost of ownership, and technical references or articles related to the solution.
To learn more about the 2026 Tech Challenge, visit here.