MEMS Industry Group's MEMS Executive Congress Held November 5-7 in Scottsdale, Arizona

MEMS Industry Group (MIG)'s MEMS Executive Congress -- held November 5-7 in Scottsdale, AZ -- showed why the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)/sensors industry is spearheading new user experiences in consumer, environmental, healthcare/medical and industrial applications.

Achievement through collaboration was a common theme of MEMS Executive Congress US 2014. Keynote Speakers George Liu, director of corporate development, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), and Francis Gouillart, CEO, Experience Co-Creation Partnership, expressed it through their presentations.

MIG Executive Director Karen Lightman announced Accelerated Innovation Community (AIC), the first open-source algorithm community for development with MEMS/sensors. MIPI Alliance introduced a new sensor interface specification for mobile, mobile-influenced and embedded-systems applications, MIPI I3C(SM), which was realized with the support of MIG.

Lightman attributed these achievements to the member-driven focus of her organization, saying, "MEMS Industry Group is about open collaboration and cooperation. Our members -- who represent the entire MEMS/sensors supply chain, from device manufacturers, foundries, materials and equipment suppliers, analysts, and consultants to OEMs and integrators -- are working together to help the industry thrive even more."

Lightman also noted the evolution of MIG and MEMS Executive Congress. "Ten years ago, MIG had 57 members and 95 attendees at MEMS Executive Congress. Today we have over 170 members and partners, and 250 attendees."

MIG also celebrated innovation through three popular annual events:

MEMS/Sensors Technology Showcase -- a forum through which six finalists competed for attendees' votes and the title of "winner." The 2014 Technology Showcase winner is mCube's iGyro™, the industry's first software-based gyroscope optimized for Android smartphones and tablets.

Elevator Pitch Session, a "Shark Tank"-like event for seven finalists representing a mixture of startups, established companies, researchers and individuals presented products for potential funding to a panel of judges. This year's Elevator Pitch winner, Indiana Integrated Circuits LLC's Quilt Packaging (QP), is a new microchip interconnection technology that incorporates conductive "nodules" fabricated on the sides of chips.

Indiana Integrated Circuits was awarded a $150K iGrant from Rogue Valley Microdevices and Sustainable Valley Technology Group plus one free year of MIG membership.

Best in MEMS & Sensors Innovation Awards (MEMsies) -- winners were selected through an open, month-long voting process for finalists in a number of categories. 2015 MEMsies winners include:

• MEMS/Sensors Device of the Year -- STMicroelectronics for LSM6DS3, a 6-axis ultra-performance accelerometer-gyro combo
• MEMS/Sensors Engineer of the Year -- Joe Seeger of InvenSense, Inc. for ICM-20728, a 3-axis gyroscope + 3-axis accelerometer + pressure sensor single-chip platform solution
• MEMS/Sensors Foundry of the Year -- X-FAB MEMS Foundry
• MEMS/Sensor Start-up of the Year -- mCube
• MEMS/Sensors Supplier of the Year -- SPTS Technologies
• MEMS/Sensors Designer of the Year -- InvenSense, Inc. for ICM-20728, an integrated 7-axis (3-axis gyroscope + 3-axis accelerometer + pressure sensor)
• MEMS/Sensors Consultant of the Year --Jérémie Bouchaud, IHS
• MEMS/Sensors Integrator -- MEMS Vision
• MEMS/Sensors Executive of the Year -- Babak Taheri, Freescale Semiconductor
• Lifetime Achievement Award -- Bruno Murari, STMicroelectronics

MIG also inducted three new members into the MEMS Industry Group Hall of Fame:

• David Kirsch, vice president and general manager, EV Group
• Valerie Marty, MEMS integration engineer, HP
• Magnus Rimskog, sales director, Silex Microsystems

MEMS Executive Congress Sponsors
Premier sponsors of MEMS Executive Congress US 2014 include: Platinum Sponsor EV Group; Gold Sponsors Lam Research Corporation and SPTS Technologies; Silver Sponsors Analog Devices, Freescale Semiconductor and IEEE Standards Association; and Bronze Sponsors Applied Materials and X-FAB MEMS Foundry.

Event sponsors include: Acuity Incorporated, AEPI, Akustica, Bosch Automotive Electronics, Bosch Sensortec GmbH, BSAC, Coventor, Expertech, IHS, MEMS Journal, Micrel, MEMS & Nanotechnology Exchange, MIPI Alliance, Okmetic, PNI, QuickLogic, Rogue Valley Microdevices, SEMI, Semico Research, Shanghai Industrial µTechnology Research Institute (SITRI), Solid State Technology, SunEdison Semiconductor, Sustainable Valley Technology Group, Tronics, VTT and Yole Développement.

Upcoming Events
MIG will host its fourth annual MEMS Executive Congress Europe 2015 (March 9-10, 2015, Copenhagen, Denmark).

MEMS Executive Congress US 2015 will be held November 4-6, 2015, Napa, CA.

For a complete list of MIG events, please visit: http://www.memsindustrygroup.org/events or contact MIG via phone: 412.390.1644 or email: [email protected].