Food for Thought


Eating healthy, getting plenty of rest and exercising regularly are the main ingredients in the recipe for wellness and fitness. But with today’s hectic lifestyles and hurried pace, do most of us still meet these basic requisites? Over the years, multiple programs have been launched to optimize the nutritional content of the foods we eat. Since the early 1900s, breakfast cereals have been ... » read more

Love and Affection in the Age of Robots


It is increasingly common to rely upon robotic devices to perform a wide range of tasks that were previously handled by humans. With robots becoming more pervasive in our lives, people are demonstrating a tendency to treat and relate to robot assistants as they would their pets and loved ones. We are beginning to project companion status on these mechanical tools. There is ample evidence tha... » read more

Thinking Ahead To Society 5.0


Industry 4.0 is a familiar term throughout the global semiconductor community. It conjures images of fully automated factories and computerized decision making at all levels of business. Less widely known is Japan’s thinking about the next step in technological evolution, which it calls Society 5.0. Instead of viewing upcoming technology advances as the fourth industrial revolution, Japan tak... » read more

Digital Fabrication’s Promise And Potential Pitfalls


Semiconductor functionality continues to expand, enabling robotic machines to analyze problems, make decisions and communicate information better than ever. These capabilities open the door for new applications such as Industry 4.0, a term now commonly used throughout Europe and the U.S. (more on Japan’s interpretation to follow). By integrating the performance capabilities of the Internet of... » read more

Some Human Musings On Machine Learning


Throughout our semiconductor industry, there are examples of binary balance. By that, I’m not just referring to the 1s and 0s in binary code. This balance also applies to n-well and p-well device features or the deposition and etching of materials on a wafer. This duality is present in our human makeup, too. We use both hard intellect and intangible feeling in recognizing challenges, findi... » read more

Growing The Semiconductor Workforce


The engine of industry is people. Nowhere is this more true than in the semiconductor industry. Think about it. This business does not depend on harvesting natural resources. It does not require that facilities be located near transportation hubs such as shipping ports. In our industry, the key to success is literally human resources. The rapid pace of innovation that characterizes the semic... » read more

Heart Of A Champion


The National Football League’s (NFL) pre-season games begin on August 2. To many of us, players in the NFL represent the toughest of the tough, combining size, speed and strength. But before we invest all of our expendable income on the game-worn jerseys of rifle-armed quarterbacks or the next “megatron” wide receivers, consider the accomplishments of those NFL players who have excelled i... » read more

Better Living Through Microelectronics


The recently completed 2018 Winter Olympic Games left many of us in awe of the athleticism on display. But this month’s 2018 Winter Paralympic Games, also being held in PyeongChang, South Korea, could be an even more impressive showcase of both skills and heart. Competitors from around the world will include athletes with a range of physical, intellectual and visual disabilities. Of course, t... » read more

Walk A Mile In Their Shoes


To most of us, when we think about how artificial intelligence (AI) enhances our mobility, the most top-of-mind examples might be how our smart phones respond to voice commands when we ask for directions to the nearest coffee shop or the current weather at the location to which we’re heading. But for people missing limbs, AI has the potential to give them the mobility that they might never ha... » read more

The Quantum Man Effect


Recently I saw an art exhibit by one of my favorite artists, Julian Voss-Andreae, a German-born sculptor now living and working in Portland, Oregon. In addition to sculpting, he has studied physics, mathematics and philosophy. His background in science has informed and influenced his career in the arts, leading to his creation of pieces such as protein sculptures, based on frames of a protein f... » read more

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