SEMICON West – Ultratech Stepper Inc.’s chairman and CEO Arthur Zafiropoulo, has been elected by the membership of Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) as chairman of the industry association’s board of directors for 2002.

A SEMI board member since 1995 who served as SEMI vice chairman for the past year, Zafiropoulo succeeds Disco Corp.’s chairman and CEO Sekiya Kenichi in the role of SEMI chairman.

“Receiving this vote of confidence from the SEMI membership is a great honor,” said Zafiropoulo. “I look forward to working with the member companies and the other SEMI officials and board members to help our industry continue to anticipate market and technology challenges, as well as seek creative solutions.”

Zafiropoulo became president of Ultratech in 1990, led a management buy-out of the company in 1993, and was appointed chairman and CEO in 1994. Prior to joining Ultratech, Zafiropoulo served as president of the General Signal Semiconductor Equipment Group’s international operations. He was also founder and president of Drytek, a dry-etch company acquired by General Signal in 1986 and subsequently purchased by Lam Research Corp. in 1993.

Zafiropoulo holds several US and foreign patents, and his early-’90s turnaround of Ultratech earned him induction into VLSI Research Inc.’s Semiconductor Industry Hall of Fame.