A “vertex” is a crucial junction where elements converge.
Florida Tech’s aptly named Vertex Applied Innovation Hub is just that—a place where different industries, ideas and technologies come together to transform bold ideas into impactful solutions.
Vertex, formerly the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Innovative Design (CAMID), which is still a component of the hub, has been reimagined and retooled with a new mission, scope and executive director.
Officially launched in February, Vertex brings together industry, higher education, local and state governments, investors, community members and more to empower transformative partnerships, connecting them with applied engineering technologies, customized workforce development programs and the unmatched talents and expertise of the Florida Tech community.
While it is housed in a robust 100,000-square-foot facility featuring labs, adaptable workspaces, manufacturing equipment and electronic resources, Vertex is more than brick and mortar.
“At Vertex, we’re not just providing a physical space,” says Samantha Miles, Vertex executive director. “We’re cultivating a comprehensive ecosystem of support and unique value-added services that will contribute to the transformative growth of the Space Coast.”
Miles, a Melbourne Beach native who comes to Vertex with 14 years of international and domestic professional experience designing and executing strategic partnerships in higher education, started at the center in October 2024.
She aims for Vertex to be recognized as a premier multidisciplinary innovation hub—first across the Space Coast, then throughout the state and, ultimately, among the nation’s top centers for applied technology and innovation.
To achieve this admittedly audacious goal, she says, Vertex must find its sweet spot as a community partner and a value-driven innovation accelerator.
“Our focus is on pursuing high-impact projects that will not only create measurable value for our community but also resonate far beyond it,” she says. “With so much potential, Vertex is poised to make a difference on a much larger scale.”
The focus is threefold: accelerate business growth, advance applied research and help prepare a future-ready workforce.
Accelerate Business Growth
A key component of the Vertex strategy is hosting what Miles calls “businesses in residence,” or BIRs.
BIRs set up shop in the Vertex facility, where they can integrate seamlessly into Florida Tech’s innovation network, accessing its resources—both tangible and intangible.
Tangibly, Vertex provides spaces and tools that support tech-oriented, diverse business operations. Labs feature high ceilings, reinforced infrastructure for heavy equipment, ample electrical hookups and high-speed internet, ensuring they meet complex projects’ demands. The facility also offers meeting rooms, conference spaces and training areas to foster collaboration.
Beyond this, Vertex offers access to additive manufacturing tools, including the EOS M290 metal 3D printer for precise, high-quality parts; the nScrypt microdispensing machine for intricate electronic circuits; and versatile 3D printers for advanced polymers. This technology enables prototype creation across a variety of industries. Vertex also supports design and simulation by offering visualization tools, such as high-resolution 3D scanners, motion-tracking systems and virtual- and augmented-reality technologies.
Intangible benefits essentially come down to one thing: connections. To fellow advanced technology-oriented businesses. To projects. To government. To people—investors, researchers, interns. Many and varying, these connections mutually benefit all parties in the Vertex network.
Julian Field ’84, an electrical engineering alumnus who set up shop in Vertex a little over a year ago, is already taking advantage.
His business, Solar Transport Systems, is developing an inexpensive, rugged solar-powered vehicle for use primarily in the Southern Hemisphere, where incomes may be scant, but sunshine is abundant.
He started working on the car, which began as a school project for his then 16-year-old son, 10 years ago in the United Kingdom, where he completed much of the development work, building a prototype that, due to frequently cloudy skies, he could only test two or three weeks a summer.
“The combination of an innovation facility attached to my former university with its location that experiences warm weather and year-round sunshine in which to test the vehicle made [Vertex] seem like a safe harbor in which to steer my ship,” Field says. “It’s just been such the right decision to have made at every level. Really, it has exceeded my expectations.”
Since moving into Vertex, Field has put the finishing touches on his prototype, a task for which he utilized both Vertex’s tools and equipment, as well as its connections to Florida Tech students. He has enlisted the help of about 20 interns for projects ranging from moving the steering wheel to the left side of the car to soldering together solar cells to pitching https://news.fit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/dr_wiggenhorn1-1.jpg proposals for third-world country launches.
“Internships are a key mutual selling point,” Miles says. “The businesses love having access to our students through the form of internships. And likewise, if our students want to get hands-on practical experiences, Vertex offers more businesses with which they can do that.”
In turn, Field has shared real-world experience and expertise with students through guest lectures in a few Bisk College of Business classes and as a judge for some of the college’s senior design projects.
As Solar Transport geared up to send its bodywork designs to a nearby factory for production, Field reached out to CAMID director Juan Avendano ’11, ’13 M.S., ’20 Ph.D., who set him up with a virtual reality headset to view the model and search out any obvious flaws.
“It goes one level beyond just the availability of equipment. It’s about knowing someone who knows something that can help,” Field says. “There is a kind of community feel that I’ve benefited from, as well. I think that having a thriving community of entrepreneurs and makers—people creating things—is a very stimulating way to work. It’s exciting to be in a place where stuff happens.”
In December, Vertex welcomed its newest BIR, Zeal OTM.
Zeal OTM is an established systems integrator specializing in edge-based, “on the move” (OTM) solutions that maximize situational awareness and counterunmanned aircraft systems (CUAS) for land, air and sea missions. They are also the U.S. manufacturer of SAFEsky Systems USA, delivering innovative drone technology for public safety.
“We chose Vertex because its collaborative environment aligns perfectly with our mission to innovate and deliver cutting-edge solutions for our clients,” says Jason Jones, Zeal OTM CEO. “We plan to utilize Florida Tech’s engineering resources to further develop our drone and sensor technology.”
As more businesses join the Vertex ecosystem, opportunities grow, Miles says.
Co-developed projects and joint intellectual property between like-minded BIRs that span multiple industries. Access to investors. Local government-backed, high-impact initiatives. Transformative partnerships with major corporations. Possibilities abound.
“If we leverage our assets effectively, Vertex becomes so much more than the sum of its parts,” Miles says. “It has the potential to become one of Florida Tech’s most powerful assets, driving industry engagement, expanding our global reputation, supporting regional and statewide economic development, offering industry insights for our faculty and students—all while launching our businesses in residence to new levels of success.”
Advance Applied Research
The same tools and facilities available to BIRs are equally valuable for delivering research and development (R&D) initiatives. Vertex aims not just to activate these resources but to maximize them to serve a variety of stakeholders across industries.
“This comprehensive ecosystem for innovation is a powerful advantage that adds significant value for our partners and the broader community,” Miles says.
Take Larsen Motorsports, a Vertex BIR that has built, tested, maintained and raced jet dragsters in its 27,000-square-foot headquarters within the Vertex facility for over 10 years and has hosted hundreds of Florida Tech students through its 15-week internship program.
If you ask CEO Chris Larsen, jet cars are really just a byproduct of what they do at LMS.
“We are really an applied research type of company,” Larsen says. “The material that you learn in the classrooms every day at Florida Tech, we take that knowledge and information, and we apply it, turn it into nuts and bolts.”
LMS has the largest inventory of gas turbines used for research in the United States, possibly the world, Larsen says. So, when a Florida Tech professor and his students were ready to put their theoretical research regarding a highly specialized biofuel to the test, they knew where to do it.
“They knew what they were doing, and we knew how to apply their research in the way they were looking for. We ran their fuel through our engine, and that particular case was massively successful—a net carbon reduction over 70%,” Larsen says. “But we do this kind of applied research all the time.”
Sam Miles, Vertex executive director
“If we leverage our assets effectively, Vertex becomes so much more than the sum of its parts. It has the potential to become one of Florida Tech’s most powerful assets …”
Combining rigorous applied research with practical, market-aligned applications also introduces potential funding opportunities through programs such as the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.
A big step toward expanding Vertex’s reach to R&D projects beyond the local community, the center was recently accepted into EMERGE, a National Science Foundation-funded program operated by private artificial intelligence-powered company Halo.
EMERGE aims to connect industry R&D teams with innovators from emerging research institutions, focusing on applied research areas critical to industry.
“My hope is that participation will offer a significant opportunity to increase our visibility, access key industry leaders and foster collaborations—especially beyond the Space Coast,” Miles says.
Prepare a Future-Ready Workforce
While Vertex has a lot to offer, it cannot be everything to everyone, Miles says. She doesn’t want to duplicate existing efforts but rather, tap into and complement them, adding new value to both the university and its many external stakeholders.
That is why she and her team are taking a very targeted approach, prioritizing partnerships with businesses and entities that could genuinely benefit from Vertex’s resources and satisfy a community or industry need.
Workforce development is a vital component of such an innovation ecosystem.
By identifying niche opportunities for training, Vertex aims to partner with government and key industries across the region to design and deliver programs that will equip our community with high-tech skills needed for the future workplace. These initiatives not only empower families to earn more but also help retain innovative industries on the Space Coast, Miles says.
Also integral to Vertex’s workforce development strategy—as well as R&D—will be the Florida Tech Research Institute (FTRI) and Aerospace Cybersecurity Engineering Development (ASCEND) program, which support Florida’s industrial and defense base through applied research and relevant talent development.
Both soon-to-be housed in the Vertex facility, FTRI and ASCEND are valuable resources that will provide much-needed services to what is the third-largest-performing sector of the economy, according to the Florida Department of Commerce.
“Rather than serving as separate entities, FTRI and ASCEND will serve as tools that amplify Vertex’s mission and create synergy,” says professor Hamid Rassoul, Florida Tech’s chief research officer. “Our ecosystem is strengthened as a result of their integration into Vertex, ensuring a more effective and cohesive approach to achieving our goals. And Vertex’s global vision and strategic partnerships will benefit them.”
Miles is determined to work with local government and industry to discern what other such technological needs exist in the community and how Vertex might help fulfill them by bridging physical systems, software and innovative practices.
Again, not just any needs, but the kind of specific skills and services—niche professional certifications, employee trainings, prototyping, etc.—that Vertex is distinctively able to both provide and cultivate within the tech-driven workforce of the Space Coast, a hub of the aerospace, manufacturing and information technology sectors.
“This region is uniquely positioned and ready for Vertex’s mission, with its rich industrial ecosystem and skilled workforce,” Rassoul says. “Vertex is more than an innovation hub—it is a catalyst for growth on the Space Coast.”
This piece was featured in the winter 2025 edition of Florida Tech Magazine.
