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Vertex Rising: Introducing Florida Tech’s New Applied Innovation Hub
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.
Samantha Miles
Vertex executive director
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 leader.
“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.”
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.
The focus is threefold: accelerate business growth, advance applied research and help prepare a future-ready workforce.
Already, Vertex is making an impact, hosting clients in its business-in-residence program and developing new collaboration pathways and industry-focused initiatives.
“Soon, we’ll launch a ‘super user’ offering that provides access to our most advanced technology, along with a signature business accelerator program,” Miles says. “We’re also designing new, customized workforce training and expanding our R&D efforts for applied innovation. More details to come.”
Miles, who comes to Vertex with 14 years of domestic and international 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.”
Learn more at floridatech.edu/vertex
