April 21, 2005 – The Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. Ltd. (SEM), today announced the establishment of a Georgia-based design center to develop next-generation radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) technology. SEM is a corporation within the Samsung group. The center is expected to become the company’s principal North American research location.
The new center’s initial focus will emphasize high-speed RFIC technologies and expertise, including providing leadership to industry-critical activities that are setting worldwide standards for next-generation products. As the center grows, it will impact the entire Samsung product line, including communications, consumer and semiconductor products.
Chang-Ho Lee, formerly with the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC), has been named director of the new design center.
“Samsung is one of today’s top electronics companies,” said Gov. Sonny Perdue. “We are pleased that Samsung has chosen Georgia for this new design center, and we look forward to having them as part of Georgia’s growing economy.”
Officials of the South Korean company cited the opportunity to collaborate with Georgia Tech researchers and support from the GEDC as their primary reason for choosing an Atlanta location for the new design center. Samsung has had a successful research interaction with Georgia Tech for almost a decade.
“The opening of this RFIC Design Center is just the starting point with Georgia Tech and the state of Georgia and it will expand our ability to play an even greater role in bringing high function, high quality and low cost products to the world marketplace,” said Dr. Byeongcheon Koh, CTO of SEM. “Locating in Atlanta and partnering with Georgia Tech assures us of access to both the best faculty and student researchers. We have been most impressed with the support being offered by the state of Georgia and the welcome we are receiving here at the university.”
Georgia Institute of Technology President Wayne Clough welcomed the announcement, noting that Georgia Tech is a world-class center for research and enjoys an excellent reputation in the area of RF integrated circuits and related technology.
The new design center will initially be housed at the GEDC, located in Georgia Tech’s Technology Square campus in midtown Atlanta. As it expands over the next few years, the company plans to extend its cooperation with Georgia Tech and Atlanta to include packaging technology.
In addition to the economic impact from the center’s personnel, Samsung’s expanded interaction with Georgia Tech would boost the already-strong research collaboration. The activity will also provide new opportunities for Georgia Tech students to gain real-world design experience and open up the potential for additional collaborative activities in topics such as cognitive radio and power amplifiers, already strong research areas for Georgia Tech.