From Basement Lab to Defense Powerhouse: Why Hands-On Wins | JAKTALK ft. Sam Gatley

What does it take to turn a single Ultimaker 2 in a basement physics lab into a 20,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility partnered with Picatinny Arsenal and the U.S. Army? Sam Gatley did exactly that — and he'll tell you the basketball court had more to do with it than the classroom.Sam is the Vice President of NJII's Defense Division, a subsidiary of NJIT built to accelerate technology from the lab into the field. Over 8.5 years, he grew a one-printer, four-student operation into COMET — a full-scale advanced manufacturing center running real defense programs in additive manufacturing, printed electronics, and workforce development. In this episode of JAKTALK, Jeff Kinsberg sits down with Sam to unpack what it actually takes to build the teams, programs, and partnerships that move the needle in the defense manufacturing sector. In this episode: How coaching high school basketball — and limping out of college with a general studies degree — shaped Sam's approach to building elite engineering teams Where additive manufacturing is actually winning in defense today, and the quality assurance problem that's still the elephant in the room Why the Rockaway Mall Sears almost became a defense manufacturing facility — and why that was a near-disaster in disguise The real goal of COMET's internship program: the robot is a side effect; the 20 engineers who can now collaborate and communicate are the deliverable The "good enough" question every defense engineer needs to ask — and why over-engineered requirements kill good solutions What's next: Re:Build Manufacturing's Optimation and the push to build domestic manufacturing capacity for defense and beyond Whether you're a defense contractor, a small shop trying to break into the government market, or an engineer early in your career — this one's for you. 🔔 Subscribe for more stories about engineering, innovation, and building what others think can't be done. #AdditiveManufacturing #DefenseInnovation #AdvancedManufacturing #NJII #WorkforceDevelopment #Engineering #JAKTALK #PicatinnyArsenal #DefenseContracting #ManufacturingUSA