CFD Research celebrates $8M laboratory expansion, honors founder
As CFD Research Corporation celebrates 35 years of operation, it’s enjoying yet another milestone in its success story: the opening of an $8 million laboratory expansion at the company headquarters at 6820 Moquin Dr NW in Cummings Research Park.
The roughly 13,500 square foot expansion increases the size of the biomedical labs by 50 percent, adding 7 additional labs to expand CFD Research’s capabilities. Following the ribbon cutting, event guests had the opportunity to tour the new facility, which features a widespread array of cutting edge technologies and laboratory spaces.
A new high performance computing center is also located in the facility with state-of-the-art heat and electrical management technologies to ensure maximum performance.
Lynn Troy, Chair Elect for the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce and president of Troy 7, acted as emcee for the well-attended event.
Named for CFD Research’s late founder, Dr. Ashok K. Singhal, the new lab facility currently houses 25-30 employees, a number that is anticipated to increase to about 50 employees in the next three years, along with adding more internship pathways for young professionals.
Founded in Huntsville in 1987 in the basement of Singhal’s home, CFD (short for Computational Fluid Dynamics) Research launched with a mission to transform the future through innovative technology solutions. It focuses on research and development through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, offers expert support Services that utilize the technologies it developed to help customers solve real-world problems, and engages in product development.
A unique feature of CFD Research’s product development is its internal “Shark Tank”-like competition, which it uses to find promising commercial technologies and spin them off as separate companies. Four companies have been spun out of CFD Research to date.
CFD Research remains in capable hands under the leadership of Sameer Singhal, who joined the company in June 2008 and served in roles of increasing responsibility before taking over for his father as President and CEO in September 2016.
The latter Singhal is no stranger to R&D–after earning a B.S. from Georgia Tech and an M.S. from Stanford University, both in Materials Science and Engineering, he spent 7 years at a semiconductor startup in Raleigh, NC where he helped develop an early stage technology through to product sales.
Singhal’s approach to leadership has been transformative, growing CFD Research from 78 employees and $15M in 2016 to over 180 employees and close to $50M in 2022. It has also added two additional facilities during this time, the Engineering Testing Center in Hollywood, AL and an office in Dayton, OH in 2021.
Singhal thanked his parents “who took that leap in 1987 and have built this company in the last 35 years.” He noted that his father was there for the facility’s groundbreaking in May 2021, recalling that in a picture taken by the Chamber he was “smiling from ear to ear…I would give anything to have my dad sitting with us in the front row smiling here today, but I do know that he’s watching from somewhere and I’m very excited to honor him and to carry on the founding principles both today and to continue the company forward in his honor.”
As a means of bringing his father into the ceremony, Singhal quoted a Huntsville Business Journal Sitdown With Success article from June 2021 featuring the last interview his father gave before his passing.
“My whole 42 years in Huntsville and in the United States has been driven by one passion– championing the new technologies, new ideas – meaning they’re not found in the mainstream of business and nobody believes them.”
“Exploring new ideas and finding and doing things which have not been done before is really my addiction…we want to make an impact and there are very few places which you will allow you the flexibility to explore your ideas,” Singhal continued, quoting his father’s interview response.
“At CFD Research, you don’t need permission from your manager to pursue an idea you think will work. Test it. If it works, share it. If it fails, test another idea or as many ideas as you want.”
After thanking those involved in making the laboratory become a reality, Singhal expressed the company’s pride in developing cutting-edge technologies in the disciplines of space, defense, aviation, and biomedical “and even more pride in seeing those technologies transition to the real world.”
Dr. Kapil Pant, Executive Vice President of Biomedical Life Sciences at CFD, then took the stage, discussing some of the technologies the company is working on, including thermal battery development, drug discovery and development, optics, and 3D bioprinting.
Pant gave special recognition to “our other cofounder, Sangeeta Singhal [wife of Ashok Singhal], who made sure we had the money to pursue our passions.“ He noted that in the 35 year history of the company, she has served in numerous positions from VP of Administration to CFO to the second CEO.
“She still serves on the board and keeps us on our toes,” Pant continued, welcoming Ms. Singhal to the stage.
During Ashok Singhal’s 2021 Huntsville Business Journal interview, he mentioned that his son Sameer created the business’s first sign that said “CFD Research Corporation” using a dot matrix printer, which the younger Singhal hung on the wall in his father’s basement office.
“I found that sign–Ashok still had it in his study,” Ms. Singhal said. Later in the ribbon cutting ceremony, Sameer was caught by surprise as he was presented with that same sign, custom framed, to be displayed outside of his office. “That was on an Apple IIe with Print Shop if anybody remembers that,” he said with a delighted smile.
According to former CFD Research President and CEO Joseph Cosumano, “Ashok invited two rare qualities found in few men: intelligence – the ability to apply knowledge and skill, and humility – a modest, low view of one’s importance.”
“Einstein was indeed correct when he talked about intelligence. Intelligence is really not knowledge, it’s about imagination, and it existed here and exists today as well,” Cosumano said. “There were so many conversations with Ashok that began with the expression ‘what if.’”
“His vision now is a reality and is in fact a legacy. I’m so proud to have been part of that for just a few years, and I carry those memories with me everyday.”
Cosumano then presented a plaque and portrait to the Singhal family dedicated to the memory and legacy of Dr. Ashok Singhal to be displayed at the new laboratory.
Dr. Singhal’s daughter Neena Singhal expressed her gratitude to UAH’s role in CFD’s success: “We’re so lucky to have a wonderful institution like UAH in our community,” she said. “Education is something that’s always been important in the hearts of both of our parents. I’m so thankful that they raised us with the mindset that education was not only expected, it was exciting, and that is something that UAH has the opportunity to share with our community and our students, our next generation here.”
“My dad always said your education is the one thing in life that cannot be taken away, and that is true. He also said that your education is not only to build you up, but to build others up,” she continued. “And that’s what we hope to do today.”
“We are happy to announce today that through a generous donation from my mom, we are establishing the Dr. Ashok K. Singhal Endowed Chair in Mechanical Engineering at UAH,” said AJ Singhal, Group Leader – Drug Discovery at CFD and CEO of PoP Therapeutics, one of CFD’s aforementioned spinoff ventures.
UAH President Dr. Charles Karr described Dr. Singhal as “an ardent supporter of the University of Alabama in Huntsville,” adding that the university has benefited greatly from his support.
Karr noted that in 2008 Ashok and Sangeeta Singhal established a scholarship, “and it continues to support undergraduate students studying engineering at UAH, allowing them to achieve what it is they can dream. But this – this is just frankly overwhelming.”
“For them to endow the Singhal Chair in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering will have a huge impact for the longest period of time. This chair honors Dr. Singhal’s leadership and his generous philanthropic spirit,” Karr explained, adding that an endowed chair is the highest position to which a faculty member aspires. This is the first endowed chair that the UAH engineering department has received.
“It represents a legacy of excellence, a legacy of passion, a legacy of caring. As the need for engineers and scientists continues to grow in north Alabama, it’s our mission at UAH to continue to satisfy that need, to continue to produce outstanding graduates from that university. Certainly this Chair will allow us to recruit and retain remarkable individuals who have dedicated their professional careers to the production of outstanding young people. So for this, we are extremely grateful,” Dr. Karr concluded.
Mayor Battle recalled his early conversations with Ashok Singhal, as well as his kindness and his love for Huntsville.
“He was always looking to bring people in, to show the magic of what Huntsville was – show them the technology, show them the magic, show why we should continue to grow and be a great place. His vision was making Huntsville a great place and he’s done it right here.”
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