Past, Present, and Future of MEMS Technologies

Join Kurt Petersen (Guest Speaker) and Roger Grace (Moderator) on a Fireside Chat at Sensors Converge in Santa Clara (CA) on Wednesday, June 21, from 7 to 8pm (PT).
Kurt Petersen (a.k.a. the Father of MEMS) is an American Inventor and Enterpreneour. Dr. Petersen received his BS degree cum laude in EE from UC Berkeley in 1970. In 1975, he received a PhD in EE from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Petersen established a micromachining research group at IBM from 1975 to 1982, during which he wrote the review paper “Silicon as a Mechanical Material,” published in the IEEE Proceedings (May 1982). This paper is still the most frequently referenced work in the field of micromachining and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). Since 1982, Dr. Petersen has co-founded six successful companies in MEMS technology, Transensory Devices Inc. in 1982, NovaSensor in 1985 (acquired by GE), Cepheid in 1996 (was a public company on NASDAQ: CPHD; acquired by Danaher in 2016), SiTime in 2004 (acquired by MegaChips in 2014, IPO in 2019), Profusa in 2008 (still private), and Verreon in 2008 (acquired by Qualcomm in 2010). In 2011, Dr. Petersen joined the Silicon Valley Band of Angels. The Band is an angel investment group which mentors and invests in early stage, high-tech, start-up companies. Today, he spends most of his time helping and mentoring such companies. Dr. Petersen has published over 100 papers, and has been granted over 35 patents in the field of MEMS. In 2001 he was awarded the prestigious IEEE Simon Ramo Medal for his contributions to MEMS. Dr. Petersen is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and is a Life Fellow of the IEEE in recognition of his contributions to “the commercialization of MEMS technology”. In 2019, he was awarded the IEEE's highest honor, the IEEE Medal of Honor.
Roger H. Grace is president of Roger Grace Associates, a Bonita Springs, Florida-based marketing consultancy he founded in 1982 that provides market research, strategic marketing communications and business development services to the MEMS, sensors and capital equipment industry. He can be reached via email at rgrace@rgrace.com. His background includes over 40 years in high frequency analog circuit design engineering, application engineering, project management, product marketing and technology consulting. He was a founding member of MANCEF and currently is its VP of the Americas. Specializing in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and sensors for over 40 years, he is considered a pioneer in this field. He has authored over 40 technical feature articles, organized, chaired, and spoken at over 30 international technical sessions and is frequently quoted as an industry expert in major international technical and business publications. He is a recipient of the Outstanding Engineering Alumni of the Year in 2004 by Northeastern University and was bestowed the inaugural Sensor Industry Impact Award by Sensors Magazine in 2016. Mr. Grace held the position of visiting lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley from 1990 to 2003. His educational background includes a B.S.E.E. and M.S.E.E. (as a Raytheon Company fellow) from Northeastern University, and the MBA program at Haas Graduate School of Business at U.C. Berkeley.
Agenda:
6:30 – 7:00 PM Networking
7:00 – 8:00 PM Fireside Chat
Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Pkwy, Santa Clara, California, United States, 95054