Rick Wallace has been appointed chairman of the SEMI International Board of Directors for the 2010-2011 term, taking office today at the annual SEMI membership meeting during SEMICON West. What follows is his perspective on a global technological transformation.
Not that long ago, many of us wouldn’t have fathomed the technology that is now crucial to our everyday lives. As we enter the second decade of the 21st century, the world continues to undergo a technological transformation as significant as the Industrial Revolution.
Today’s technology is enabling a whole new frontier of productivity and connectivity — breaking down barriers both in the workplace and at home in a way we never thought possible. It’s allowed us to be more nimble and more responsive. It has brought us closer together across the globe. At a pace that’s evolving ever so rapidly, technology has changed us forever, and the end of the technological revolution is nowhere in sight.
In a competitive landscape dominated by form factors, app stores and operating systems, the glory days of the processor wars — when silicon innovation drove each wave of new technology — would appear to be ancient history. Nothing could be further from the truth. Semiconductor technology is very much at the heart of today’s revolution. Daily, we chart new territory in our collective quest to innovate and push the limits of Moore’s Law, enabling next-generation semiconductors that will power tomorrow’s life-changing technology.
I want to thank Stan Myers and the members of SEMI for the opportunity to be part of this organization at this critical time. I look forward to working with the SEMI Board and global membership to drive innovation, transition and change.
— Richard P. Wallace, President and CEO, KLA-Tencor