The TECHCON 2014 conference hosted by Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), the university-research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, will feature immediate past GLOBALFOUNDRIES CEO Ajit Manocha among the list of executive speakers at the Sept. 7-9 annual event.
Manocha, a strategic advisor to GLOBALFOUNDRIES following his retirement from CEO, will serve as keynote speaker during TECHCON’s Sept. 8 banquet, while Nido Qubein, President of High Point University, will open the conference the morning of Sept. 8. Additionally, David Berz, Global Learning Leader at LinkedIn, will address the conference at a Sept. 7 evening session.
Hosted in Austin, Texas, SRC’s annual TECHCON conference features next-generation research progress among hundreds of university students, faculty and industry experts.
“TECHCON brings together the brightest minds in microelectronics research to exchange news about the progress of new materials and processes created by SRC’s network of more than 100 of the top engineering universities,” said SRC President Larry Sumney. “Students and industry leaders discuss basic research at TECHCON that is intended to accelerate advancements for both private and public entities.”
Manocha is a veteran semiconductor industry executive with more than 30 years of global expertise in manufacturing operations, general management and semiconductor technology. His keynote will discuss the technical and economic challenges facing the semiconductor industry, and how the industry has an opportunity to evolve its foundry model to enable innovation required to drive technology forward and also offer a practical framework for controlling manufacturing costs.
Qubein, chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company with 220 stores in 43 states, is president of High Point University in North Carolina that educates 4,300 undergraduate and graduate students from 40 countries. His address will cover communicating and connecting in a technical environment, helping SRC support its members in building the overall effectiveness through human capital and cultivating SRC students.
Berz leads a team of learning instructional designers at LinkedIn whose key focus is to create web and e-learning experiences for the global LinkedIn enterprise. His session will help attendees define the elements of building their professional LinkedIn profile and using LinkedIn effectively for a technical career.
More than 11,000 students have been prepared by SRC programs, professors and mentors for entry into the semiconductor business. These students provide a path for technology transfer and a source of relevantly educated technical talent for the industry.