April 29, 2011 — Inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen will be a speaker at the Semico Summit (May 1-3, Paradise Valley, AZ). Jim Feldhan, president of Semico Research, tells Debra Vogler, senior technical editor, why the inventor was invited and discusses conference topics.

Because the conference theme is about the new frontier and innovation, Kamen was a logical choice, said Feldhan. Additionally, semiconductor technology is a major component of many of Kamen’s inventions. Kudos also go to Kamen and his work with the First organization, which reaches out to young people to get them interested in science and technology with robotics competitions and other events. "Dean Kamen will challenge our audience and industry to get involved as the youth are the minds for the next generation of innovators," said Feldhan.

The event will focus on the changing electronics landscape and how to take advantage of the change. A company’s ability to understand the entire ecosystem and prepare itself for the future may result in its viability and profitability moving forward, notes Feldhan. Infrastructure demands on server farms, broadband access, and adoption of 4G technology will also be discussed at the summit.

According to Feldhan, rapid deployment of 4G will place tremendous demands on infrastructure and will drive broadband communications for the next five years. Integration of mixed-signal SoCs and manufacturing technologies will also be covered at the event.