Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), the world's leading university-research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, today named well-known semiconductor technology expert Dr. Jeffrey Welser as director for the consortium's Nanotechnology Research Initiative (NRI). Under his direction, aggressive research in nanoelectronics will be conducted in collaboration with U.S. federal and state government research agencies.
A primary goal for Dr. Welser and the NRI will be to develop an information element that can replace the Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (CMOS FET) in the year 2020 or beyond, as well as the necessary technology to integrate the new information element with CMOS. The most widely used integrated circuit technology, CMOS is found in almost every electronic product, from handheld devices to mainframes. Dr. Welser has a strong track record of innovation for progress in integrated circuit technology, and his extensive contributions to the industry are expected to similarly benefit nanotechnology research.
"The concept of nanotechnology holds much promise for the continued advancement of the chip industry, as well as other industries," said Dr. Welser. "The talent and collaborative culture of the SRC organization provide an outstanding combination of resources with which to create the breakthroughs that nanotechnology is expected to deliver for the world."
For more than 20 years, Dr. Welser has been a global leader in research and development for high-performance semiconductor structures and processes. As Director of Next-Generation Computing Technology at IBM's Almaden Research Center, Dr. Welser has been working on technology and design for next-generation server systems. Since 1995, his leadership positions at IBM have included serving as Director of High-Performance CMOS Technology, management committee leader for the Sony-Toshiba-AMD-IBM Development Alliance, and Manager of the Exploratory Silicon Devices & Circuits organization at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center.
"Dr. Welser is a perfect choice for our world-class research effort in next-generation technology," said Larry Sumney, CEO and president of SRC. "His work has contributed significantly to the highest standards of the semiconductor research community and the SRC team is excited to leverage his deep industry expertise toward the considerable challenges of tomorrow's electronics."
Dr. Welser has served in leadership roles in several professional, research and industrial standards organizations. He is a member of the IEEE Electron Devices Society Advisory Committee and has been a member of SRC's Value Chain Technical Advisory Board since 2003.
Dr. Welser holds 21 patents and has been published in more than 50 industry journals and conference presentations. He received his B.S., master's and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, graduating in 1994.
The naming of Dr. Welser to succeed Dr. Hans Coufal, who is on an extended leave of absence from the NRI and SRC's leadership team, comes at a point of growing momentum for the consortium.
The NRI, in collaboration with the NSF, coordinates research in nanotechnology among several major universities in the U.S. To accelerate the work, three major research centers have been established by NRI in the U.S. The centers are Western Institute of Nanoelectronics (WIN), based in California; Institute for Nanoelectronic Discovery and Exploration (INDEX), based in New York; and the planned Southwest Academy for Nanoelectronics (SWAN), based in Texas. Each of these centers involves significant state government leverage as well as additional funds provided by SRC member companies in the region of each center.
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