Samantha Miles is the Executive Director of Vertex, the Applied Innovation Hub at Florida Tech. Before coming to Florida Tech, Sam worked in higher ed in Australia and then moved with her husband to Dubai where she worked as a strategic advisor and consultant. She eventually felt homesick and moved back to Melbourne where she was born. She actively pursued her current role at Florida Tech since it aligned so well with her career.
What is Vertex?
Vertex was previously known as CAMID (Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Innovative Design), which was primarily known as a composites lab. The center was rebranded to expand its vision to becoming a national applied innovation center. The name "Vertex" was chosen because, on a parabola, the vertex is the starting point from which everything goes outward toward infinity. Vertex officially launched about a year ago and operates out of a 100,000 square-foot facility. It focuses on three core areas
- Research & Development: The facility offers advanced technology like 3D printing, digital engineering, an indoor drone arena hooked up to motion-tracking cameras, and an industry-facing composites lab.
- Workforce Development: They provide micro-credentialed short courses tailored to the specific needs of industry partners.
- Business Acceleration: Vertex provides medium and large companies with access to prototyping technology and a designated operational space to help them grow to the next level.
One of its most prominent partners is Larsen Motorsports, who when they are not building and racing jet dragsters (0-160mph in 4 seconds), test and recommission jet engines on site.
Student Involvement
Vertex heavily focuses on the student talent pipeline. They currently employ around 20 students working as lab assistants or interning with resident businesses, allowing the students to gain direct hands-on industry experience.
Listen to the whole interview below.