The Future of the Semiconductor Industry and How to Motivate the Next Generation – Panel

Lorena received her Electronic Engineering degree from Universidad del Norte (2006) and the M.Sc. in Electronic and Computer Engineering from Universidad de los Andes (2008). She has more than 10 years of experience in academic administration, teaching and research in important institutions in Colombia. Currently, she is Assistant Professor and Director of Laboratories and Facilities of the Faculty of Engineering and Basic Sciences of Universidad Central. Active IEEE volunteer for more than 19 years, Lorena has been a member of the Educational Activities Board for the last 6 years, and she is currently the IEEE EAB Pre-University Education Coordinating Committee Past Chair.

Matt Francis, Ph.D. Matt is founder and President/CEO of Ozark Integrated Circuits, Inc. Dr. Francis earned BSEE (’03), BS Physics (’04), MSEE (’07) and PhD (’09) degrees from the University of Arkansas.  At Ozark IC, he leads development of high-temperature semiconductor computing solutions for energy, defense, aerospace and space applications, and has served as a remote payload specialist for Ozark IC’s payloads on the International Space Station.  Dr. Francis is an expert in the scalable design, manufacturing and assembly of extremely reliable single-board computers, from silicon/silicon carbide semiconductors to advanced packaging, ceramics and test for reliability – including their complex supply chains.  Under his leadership Ozark IC has been recognized as a leader in the design and manufacturing of rugged computing devices, evidenced by wins in the MassChallenge accelerator Gold award (2020), the Army XTech Hypersonic Manufacturing Prize (2022) and the American Made Geothermal Prizes (2021-2023) – as well as 35 SBIR Phase I/II programs funded through DoD, DOE, NASA and NSF to date.

Dr. Francis also serves as a Region Director, Elect (Region 5 USA Southwest), as the IEEE-USA representative to the IEEE Industry Engagement Committee, as past chair of the IEEE MGA Chapter Operations Support Committee and is a Council Member for the city of Elkins, AR. Dr. Francis is passionate about entrepreneurship and growing the next generation of scientists and engineers.  He is an IEEE STEM Champion, volunteering weekly with his local robotics club.  He is an advisor to science-based startups through the Science Venture Studio, and in 2022 he was the recipient of the IEEE-USA Entrepreneurship Spirit Award for the ground breaking work of his company, as well as his service in mentoring small-businesses in the deep-technology space. In 2023, he is serving in multiple roles to help stakeholders engage in the CHIPS+ act, including serving as a founder of SURGEArkansas.org, an organization coordinating stakeholders in the state to respond to CHIPS+ opportunities with support from the AR Dept. of Commerce, as a speaker and panelist for IEEE and other organizations.

Dr. Fernando Guarin is the Senior Past President for the IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS) and the Chair of the Board of Governors for IEEE Smart Village (ISV). He retired in July 2022 as a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Global Foundries in New York where he led the reliability team responsible for the qualification of 5G technologies. In 2015 he retired from IBM’s Semiconductor Division after 27 years as Senior Member of Technical Staff.  He earned his BSEE from the “Pontificia Universidad Javeriana”, in Bogotá, Colombia, the M.S.E.E. degree from the University of Arizona, and the Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, NY.  He worked in microelectronic reliability in the semiconductor industry for 42 years.

 From 1980 until 1988 he worked in the Military and Aerospace Operations division of National Semiconductor Corporation.  In 1988 he joined IBM’s microelectronics division where he worked in the reliability physics and modeling of Advanced Bipolar, CMOS and Silicon Germanium Bi-CMOS technologies. Most recently he was the leader of the team qualifying GlobalFoundries RF 5G technology offerings.

Dr. Guarín is an IEEE Fellow, Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Electron Device Society EDS, where he has served in many capacities including;  member of the IEEE’s EDS Board of governors,  chair of the EDS Education Committee, Secretary for EDS. He was the EDS President 2018-2019.

Shari Liss is the Executive Director of the SEMI Foundation, a nonprofit arm of SEMI that focuses on Workforce Development programs and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives supporting more than 2500 companies globally. Shari has more than 25 years of experience supporting education, career awareness and workforce development throughout the technology industry. 

Under Shari’s leadership, the Foundation has launched numerous national and global workforce development initiatives and secured millions of dollars to fund programs that support industry image and awareness, welcome more women and people of color to the industry, and help veterans and those transitioning out of the military find careers in microelectronics. Shari has been instrumental in developing large-scale cross-sector partnerships that are working to bridge industry, education, and the workforce to address the industry’s critical workforce needs. This past February, Shari testified before Congress at the House Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing titled “Strengthening the U.S. Microelectronics Workforce,” where she made the case for increased industry visibility, stronger investments in K-12 STEM education, and a greater focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the industry.