19 minute read
By Noah Logan
Drake State’s Frontiers Program Demonstrates Unique 3-D Printing Capabilities
By Noah Logan / Photos courtesy of Drake State Community & Technical College
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Three years of hard work culminated for a group of students and faculty at Drake State Community & Technical College on Monday, November 28. Dozens gathered as the Frontiers Research Program demonstrated their unique ability to 3D print living spaces on the moon while only using materials similar to those found on the moon’s surface.
“Today, we are delivering on a promise,” said Dr. Patricia Sims, President of Drake State.
In addition to supporting NASA programs, the work being done by Drake State’s Frontiers Research team is expected to lead to innovation and development that will benefit construction and advanced manufacturing industries throughout the North Alabama area.
The Frontiers program was established in 2020 to support research in additive manufacturing and 3D printing for NASA’s Moon to Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technology Project (MMPACT). The MMPACT
project aims to deliver on demand capabilities to create livable and workable infrastructure on the lunar surface via construction of landing pads, habitats, shelters, roadways, berms and blast shields using lunar based materials.
Drake State is the first community college and only historically Black community college to receive an award from Marshall’s Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) opportunity since its inception in 2013.
The program received additional funding in 2021 through NASA’s Inclusion Across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES) award. They were one of only six schools in the country to receive the award.
In addition to getting hands on experience in a rapidly growing 3D printing industry, the interns who participate in the Frontiers Research Program are automatically eligible to continue their education in the field after leaving Drake State. The school was able to merge the curriculum designed for the Frontiers Program with Middle Tennessee State University, which allows graduates to obtain a “2+2” degree while still paying in state tuition. w
What You Need to Know: Preparing for the 2023 Labor Market
By Alexander Duck, II
The American workforce has changed dramatically in the past 50 years, though for many, wages have remained the same or even shrunk.
Union participation has declined steeply alongside a decrease in employee benefits and retirement packages. The educational requirements for many jobs have increased, while other segments of the market have disappeared entirely, like video rental stores and phone directory printing.
Understanding the shifts and trends of this new emerging workforce can be helpful in planning for the future and adjusting expectations.
A Slower Generational Shift
While it may seem natural that the labor force is becoming younger, as the oldest generation (the Baby Boomers) continue to exit the workplace, the change is not happening nearly as swiftly as previously expected.
This is for two reasons: Americans are working later into life and fewer young Americans are joining the workforce immediately after high school. Every tid bit of data on the labor force can be found via the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but in short, this slow passing of the torch is likely occurring because older Americans are living longer and healthier in their senior years (thanks to advances in medical science) and are struggling financially to be able to safely retire.
Meanwhile, more young adults are living at home, up to the age of 25, than in prior generations. These young Americans are also more likely to go directly into college and graduate programs immediately after high school, delaying their entry into the workforce.
Increasingly Diverse
Since 1970, the number of American women working has nearly doubled! This is probably the most stark change in the increasingly diverse labor pool, but it is certainly not the only one.
Nearly one-fifth of all American jobs are now held by foreign-born workers. From 1980 to 2020, the total of non-Hispanic white employees in the workforce dropped from 82% to 62%. This slow decline is expected to continue.
BLS currently predicts this percentage may be as low as 53% by 2050.
A New Type of Work
Jobs that rely heavily on manual or repetitive labor, such as poultry factories and construction, have seen a sharp decline in recent years.
Many of these positions have been replaced through automation, where robots and streamlined processes make them obsolete. Of those jobs that do remain, deemed “jobs Americans don’t want”, the majority are currently filled by migrant workers and immigrants.
With the rise of the gig economy, freelance and contract work has seen a drastic increase in the last two decades. Companies like Uber and GrubHub have made these types of jobs, that the Pew Research Center refers to as “alternative working arrangements”, readily available to most of the population.
Other self-employment options, such as selling wares on Etsy, renting space via Airbnb, or streaming video content on Twitch, have also become more popular and viable in recent years, ushering in a wave of mini-entrepreneurs that are not straddled to a typical “9 to 5”.
These alternate forms of income, however, suffer from a lack of health insurance, retirement savings, and other benefits - a problem that has become increasingly common in the traditional workplace as well.
Education and Experience Requirements have Increased
The percentage of job postings in the market that call for a high level of “job preparation” has also steadily increased.
This refers to positions that require prior experience, higher levels of education, or vocational training for consideration. Unsurprisingly, then, having a high school diploma has become a sort of bare minimum for entry into the workforce.
Currently, as little as 7% of American workers hold less than a high school diploma and “some college” has now become the largest segment of the labor pool.
Soft Skills are Essential Skills
Over the past few decades, while manual labor and manufacturing jobs have waned, the segment of the economy that has continued to grow rapidly is the service sector.
This includes not only food services and hospitality, but also education, healthcare, and professional services. As such, social and analytic skills have become increasingly important. Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, are pivotal to success in these career fields.
Conclusion
A current assessment of the American labor market feels rather bleak: Americans now work more hours for less pay and fewer employee benefits at jobs that have higher entry requirements and fewer feasible options for a realistic retirement.
Long gone are the days of “company loyalty”, where a Springfield father of three would work at the same power plant for 35 years, but that went away with pensions and affordable family health insurance.
However, innovation and change are always right around the corner. The only thing that remains certain is that the American labor pool, like the job market and economy, is changing. w
Orbital Assembly Announces New Equity Offering to Help Advance Space Station Development
Orbital Assembly (OA), a leader in the race to make HybridGravityTM space accessible for leisure, commercial and industrial activities has announced a crowdfunding equity offering (Regulation CF).
The company continues to seek investment to initiate full scale human factors design in conjunction with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, to begin construction of the first orbital flight hardware, and pursue protection of the company’s extensive portfolio of intellectual property.
Over the last three years, Orbital Assembly completed schematic design of the Voyagerclass station and Pioneer-class space platforms, and the OASIS habitation module. The company has signed agreements with dozens of partners, vendors, and future customers.
The company is also pursuing a number of Small Business Administration projects (SBIR) with multiple agencies in the Department of Defense. Orbital Assembly offers consulting services to assist these customers in preparing for use of our orbital assets and fly payload on the first Pioneer-class station, with planned initial operation within 30 months contingent on funding.
The Pioneer-classTM stations are designed to be the world’s first and largest hybrid space stations and the first free-flying, habitable, privately-operated facility in orbit. The station configuration will offer modules with 73,454 cubic feet of space – each twice the size of the International Space Station. OA is in discussions with customers for long term leases of rack space for the first launch of their “station in a box.”
The Pioneer-class Station will be our first free-flying space craft and accommodate up to 54 people. This hybrid-gravity space station, used for commercial operations, is designed for variable artificial gravity operation, providing the opportunity for long term habitation.
The Pioneer-class Station is designed to generate revenue in all of the sectors listed above. Based on current customer interest, Orbital Assembly projects the station may be cash flow positive in its first year of operation. Voyagerclass Space Stations feed forward from Pioneer-station architecture and are Orbital Assembly’s flagship product. w
Leidos Dynetics Team and Northrop Grumman to Collaborate on NASA Human Landing System Bid
Dynetics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leidos, today announced it has submitted a bid on the Human Landing System (HLS) Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD) contract for NASA’s Artemis Mission. Northrop Grumman will join the Dynetics team in this pursuit.
“As the only company to successfully build a crewed lunar lander, Northrop Grumman will be an excellent partner as we support NASA’s inspiring efforts to return humans to the lunar surface. We will leverage their expertise and legacy of human space exploration, including their ongoing contracts to build the Habitation and Logistics Outpost for NASA’s lunar Gateway and to provide commercial resupply services to the International Space Station, significantly bolstering our pursuit. We’re pleased they have joined us in this historic effort,” said Leidos Dynetics Group President Steve Cook.
For more than three years, the Dynetics team has been a prime contractor for HLS. It was one of 11 companies selected in 2019 under the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnership (NextSTEP-2) Appendix E contract. The Leidos subsidiary was then selected under NextSTEP-2 Appendix H in 2020, alongside SpaceX and Blue Origin.
In September 2021, Dynetics was one of five companies selected under Appendix N, which allows industry partners to collaborate with NASA to mature lander designs and conduct risk reduction activities in support of sustainable lander development. The recent SLD solicitation – also known as NextSTEP-2 Appendix P – was released on September 16, 2022.
Northrop Grumman has also been a primary supporter of HLS, winning prime contracts under Appendices E and N.
“Our capabilities and experience in pioneering human exploration and space logistics will help provide a lunar transportation system that our nation can rely on for years to come,” said Steve Krein, Vice President, Civil and Commercial Space, Northrop Grumman. w
PPT Solutions Invests in Unanet for GovCon ERP and CRM, Prepares for Growth
aviation and Department of Homeland Security customers, selected Unanet GovCon ERP and CRM to help it mobilize for significant growth.
As the company began pursuing large new business opportunities this year, PPT needed a more user-friendly interface and ability to customize data for software engineering, airworthiness and evaluation solutions the company provides.
Unanet will help the company formalize their pipeline and proposal process in order to bring on additional resources to grow their business development.
“I really want to make a transition now before we get into a period of considerable growth so that the company isn’t growing at the same time as it transitions into a new accounting and contracts management system,” said Jim Reeb, CEO of PPT Solutions. “I want our back office to have a more robust approach to handle a larger team.”
After speaking with several local GovCons about solutions, PPT narrowed their decision down to Unanet and another legacy ERP provider. PPT chose Unanet based on its more user-friendly interface that made manipulating data easier, and because the solution is more customizable for their needs.
PPT had previously used other tools to capture time entry, payroll invoicing and contract data.
“Our peers shared that the competing system was not very intuitive and often difficult to get the type of reports or information that we would need,” said Reeb. “I heard very positive things about Unanet’s user interface and that it was easier to view data, modify it and create reports. Additionally, Unanet was a cost-effective solution that didn’t require more than what I budgeted.”
More than 2,000 fast-growing GovCon companies have selected Unanet GovCon ERP and CRM to scale and grow seamlessly. w
Family Legacy & Farmland Preserved in Limestone County
The Land Trust of North Alabama recently received a donation from Beth Freeman Buckelew of 320 acres in Limestone County near Athens.
The property was willed to the Land Trust protecting it from future development and preserving family farmland, a portion of Piney Creek, and a variety of other natural features, the organization said.
The farm includes rolling hills, pasture land, wooded hillsides, and spring.
Piney Creek, a tributary to the Tennessee River, flows through north to south creating small wetland areas along the way. A four-acre homesite indicates its current and former use for cattle grazing and other agriculture.
“Beth made sure that her farm, its incredible natural treasures, and the memories that accompanied it would be protected permanently by willing it to the Land Trust,” said Hallie Porter, Land Trust development director. “To her it was so much more than just land. It helped fashion a woman who was passionate about the outdoors and became a part of her soul.
There are no plans at this time to open the property for public access and agricultural use will continue. The Land Trust will care for the land in perpetuity, protecting it for wildlife habitat, providing a buffer for the creek, and conserving the watershed area.
For information on preserving and protecting the area’s natural resources, visit landtrustnal.org/ preserve. w
Land Acquired for New 2.2 Million Square Foot Industrial Development
J.H. Berry & Gilbert, Inc. announced that land has been acquired for the new Huntsville Logistics Center. J.H. Berry & Gilbert’s Industrial team, led by Edwin Moss, Jake Bottcher and Sonny Potter, are directing the leasing for the new industrial park.
The +/- 132 acre class A industrial development is comprised of four buildings totaling up to 2.2 million square feet available for lease. The new industrial park is conveniently located at Old Highway 20 & Gunters Way just off County Line Road with easy access to I-565, the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing campus and the Huntsville International Airport. With the location secured, the development team expects to deliver the first phase of the Huntsville Logistics Center in Q4 of 2023.
“Huntsville is the fastest growing city in Alabama, and we believe the Huntsville Logistics Center is a perfect site for both logistics and industrial businesses with its strategic location between the new Greenbrier Parkway and the Huntsville airport,” said Edwin Moss, J.H. Berry & Gilbert Executive Vice President.
Moss continued, stating that the new industrial park will fit well with
Huntsville’s current business industries.
“When you look at some of the leading employers in Huntsville, including giants such as Polaris, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, Buffalo Rock, Amazon, LG Electronics, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and of course NASA’s U.S. Space & Rocket Center, the Huntsville Logistics Center is positioned alongside some exciting industrial business leaders and innovators,” said Moss. “Our Industrial team knows that this will be an exceptional addition to the Huntsville business community.”
Edwin Moss and Philip Currie of J.H. Berry & Gilbert, Inc. represented Flint Development in their acquisition of the land. Bart Smith, Tyler Fanning, and John Coleman of Graham & Company represented the seller in the acquisition of land. w
Bonaventure Expands into Huntsville Area Market
Bonaventure, an integrated alternative asset manager focused on the development, construction, and property management of innovative lifestyle multifamily communities in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions, today hosted the ground-breaking of Attain at Bradford Creek located at 556 Martin Road in Huntsville, Alabama to celebrate entering a new Southeastern market.
The 350-unit Class A multifamily community, located 15 miles from downtown Huntsville in the Madison/Airport submarket, will deliver much-needed additional high-quality housing to the community.
Birmingham, Alabama-based Doster Construction is leading the onsite construction of Attain at Bradford Creek and Bonaventure is overseeing the property’s development and management. Attain at Bradford Creek’s first units will be delivered in March of 2024, with the full project expected to be completed by the end of September 2024.
Residents of Attain at Bradford Creek will enjoy not only the finest in interior design and stateof-the-art appliances, but also close proximity to major transportation routes and many of the city’s major employers including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. The 22-acre community in the Madison/Airport Submarket is one of Huntsville’s most desirable areas, known for its excellent school system and accessibility to job and retail centers across the metro.
“Doster Construction is excited to partner with Bonaventure, a leading multi-family developer, on their first project in Huntsville,” said Conn Crabtree, Doster Vice President and Huntsville Division Manager. “Our teams share a commitment to building quality facilities, and we are extremely pleased to add Attain at Bradford Creek to our growing portfolio of work in North Alabama.”
Attain at Bradford Creek will include a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units with square footage ranging from 839 to 1,375 SF per unit, totaling 359,050 SF. The community will feature a mix of high-end amenities including a pond and dog park, Amazon lockers and clubhouse with a stateof-the-art pool and fitness center. w
RECOGNITION
Bank Independent Hires Rockhill
Bank Independent is pleased to announce the hiring of Nick Rockhill as a VP Sales Officer in Madison County.
Rockhill has over 10 years of experience in the banking industry. He has served on the Retail Banking side for about five years where he served various roles from Customer Sales/ Relationship Banking to Management of a Retail Sales Office. After serving the retail side he began serving as a Commercial Lender for the last five years. During this time, he specialized in C&I Lending (Government Contractors, Manufacturing Entities, Equipment Financing, etc.), Commercial Real Estate transactions, Construction Lending, Healthcare, Business Acquisitions, and SBA Lending.
“My goal has always been to build long lasting relationships and trust with my clients to identify financial solutions and growth opportunities for various business customers,” Rockhill said. “I hope to impact both my clients and peers in a positive way. I find great value and satisfaction in helping a business owner achieve his/her goals.”
Rockhill is a member of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation – Board of Trustee; The Land Trust of North Alabama Board of Directors; Leadership of Greater Huntsville – Management Academy Class 13; Madison Baseball Association Board of Directors and the Connection Team at The Brook Church.
RECOGNITION
Buddo Named by DHI to Follow Emerson as President, CEO
Downtown Huntsville, Inc., has identified the replacement for former President and CEO Chad Emerson.
Rob Buddo succeeds Chad Emerson, who resigned after nine successful years at DHI to take over as Managing Director of Business Operations for Huntsville’s NEXT professional soccer team.
After what the DHI board and an executive committee called an extensive search they approved Buddo, a North Carolina native who graduated from the University of Alabama.
“I am honored to usher Downtown Huntsville, Inc., into its next era of growth and collaboration,’’ Buddo said in a press release. “The city’s collective commitment to purposeful and sustained growth is just one of the many qualities that make Huntsville unique and this opportunity so exciting. I’m grateful for the strong foundation laid before me and look forward to leading this organization through many transformative years as Huntsville continues its rapid momentum.’’
Buddo has a bachelor’s degree in Geography with an emphasis in Urban and Regional Planning. He started his career as Catalytic Development Manager for Main Street Birmingham, the predecessor organization to REV Birmingham.
While working for Main Street, he focused on the redevelopment and management of properties in the city’s historic Woodlawn neighborhood. These projects included the redevelopment of seven vacant retail spaces, a 12,000 square foot mixed-use development, and assemblage of parcels for an awarded lowincome housing tax credit project.
In the past decade, Buddo has also worked in commercial real estaterelated roles for CoStar Group, Inc. in the Washington, D.C. and Houston, Texas, markets.
RECOGNITION
ServisFirst Bank Huntsville Announces New Executive Vice President
ServisFirst Bank, a subsidiary of ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS), announced the promotion of Angel Stinson to Executive Vice President, Chief Credit Officer for the ServisFirst Bank Huntsville/North Alabama region.
With over 30 years of banking and finance experience, Stinson has worked in the industry since 1990 and for ServisFirst Bank since 2018. In this role, she will continue to provide great value and expertise to the Huntsville market.
Stinson oversees ServisFirst Bank’s credit approval process, the team of credit analysts/portfolio managers and interns, all credit-related issues, and serves as the Huntsville point of contact for compliance matters. Her superior credit skills and extensive knowledge have set her apart as a key leader in the industry. Stinson graduated from Birmingham-Southern College with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Management.
For more about ServisFirst Bank, please visit www.servisfirstbank.com.
