Dec. 12, 2003 — Oregon officials have tapped a former Hewlett-Packard Co. executive to lead development of the state’s first research center focused on micro- and nanotechnologies.

Robert “Skip” Rung will work on creating a permanent structure and governing body for the center, which initially will be located in donated space on HP’s Corvallis, Ore., campus but will have branches at Oregon State University, University of Oregon and Portland State University. Academic leadership will come from the center’s co-directors: Kevin Drost, a mechanical engineering professor at Oregon State; and David Johnson, chemistry professor at University of Oregon.

The center will specialize in developing multiscale materials and devices, which combine small technologies to enable ultrasmall and efficient systems, including heat pumps and microcombustors the size of cigarette lighters and higher capacity chips for the semiconductor industry.

Rung worked in microtechnology at HP for 25 years before retiring in 2001. He was a pioneering developer of HP’s thermal inkjet printing technology.