This presentation will provide an overview of the Raytheon–UMass Lowell Research Institute (RURI) and the Printed Electronics Research Collaborative (PERC) at UMass Lowell. Both organizations focus on industry-driven research in advanced electronics, packaging, and manufacturing, with strong engagement from industry and government partners. Key research areas include printed and additively manufactured electronics, RF and microwave components, sensors and embedded systems, advanced materials and processes for electronics packaging, reliability, and scalable manufacturing. The talk will highlight ongoing projects, industry collaborations, and the role of RURI and PERC in supporting technology transition and workforce development. 

This work focuses on advancing the integration of high-density circuits (IC) into printed flexible and conformal electronics for RF and sensing applications. Lightweight, battery-powered RF sensors were developed, demonstrating strong performance and cohesive integration with printed microcontroller circuits. These devices were designed for on-demand sensing while maintaining a low form factor. The environmental stability and reliability of printed electronics were improved through the incorporation of surface-mount packaging solutions. However, many modern RF ICs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and power management ICs are increasingly fabricated in advanced, high-density packaging formats, which pose additive integration challenges due to their fine-pitch and array-style contacts. To address this, novel Additive Manufacturing (AM) methods are being developed to embed advanced ICs alongside printed traces and passive components within resin printed substrates. This approach leverages low-loss and high-temperature UV-curable resins with high-resolution digital light processing (DLP) to enhance fabrication precision and reduce processing time. The goal of this work is to establish scalable manufacturing techniques that enable compact and environmentally stable RF hybrid electronics.