This year's MEMS Executive Congress will be held in Scottsdale, Arizona November 7 - 9. The conference is a unique professional forum at which executives from companies designing and manufacturing MEMS technology sit side-by-side with their end-user customers in panel discussions and networking events to exchange ideas and information about the use of MEMS in commercial applications. By creating an intimate forum for decision-makers, the goal of the Congress is to define, collaborate on, and grow the global MEMS market by connecting the MEMS supply chain (including device manufacturers, designers, equipment and material suppliers) with end-users and potential end-users of MEMS.

This year’s program will feature:

• Keynote Speaker Ajith Amerasekera, TI Fellow, IEEE Fellow, in Texas Instruments’ Kilby Labs. He will address how electronics technology innovation is driving a shift toward more intelligent systems that enable immersive environments. Small in size and deployed in vast numbers, these new systems will dramatically change how our cities, buildings, personal life, health, transportation, safety and security are managed in the future.
• Keynote Speaker Robert Brunner, founder, creative director and partner, Ammunition. As a product innovator who first made his name as director of industrial design at Apple, Robert will share his philosophy behind positive user experience, one based not on a set of features, advertising or a company logo—but on an emotional affinity for a product that makes the whole far greater than the sum of its parts. Brunner will explore the connection between consumer product design and the user experience, considering the role of technology in consumer satisfaction and market success.
• MEMS Technology Showcase. Back by popular demand, MIG will host the second annual MEMS Technology Showcase at this year’s Congress. Sponsored by SVTC Technologies, the MEMS Technology Showcase will give Congress attendees an intimate look at some of the most unique MEMS-enabled products ever invented. Attendees will vote on the best product, and Moderator Shawn G. DuBravac, chief economist and senior director of research, Consumer Electronics Association, will “crown” the winner.
• Panels on MEMS in Consumer Products, Emerging Technologies, Biomedical/Quality of Life, and the MEMS Market.

The panels will include various topics and distinguished speakers.

MEMS Market: Analysts from leading research firms will present their outlook for future growth and trends in MEMS, addressing factors affecting MEMS in specific market segments. Moderated by Jeffrey Hilbert, president and founder, WiSpry, with panelists:

• Jérémie Bouchaud, director and senior principal analyst, MEMS & Sensors, IHS iSuppli
• Jean-Christophe Eloy, president and CEO, Yole Développement
• Tony Massimini, chief of technology, Semico Research
• Steve Ohr, analog and power semiconductors, Gartner, Technology and Service Provider Research

MEMS in Medical/Quality of Life: sponsored by Tronics, this panel will examine ways in which MEMS is promoting better health/quality of life (QoL) in the medical sciences, exploring technologies and commercial opportunities in clinical care, patient monitoring, management, personal fitness, rehab, replacement and drug delivery. Moderated by Jeanette F. Wilson, product line manager, Sensor and Actuator Solution Division (SASD)/AISG, Freescale Semiconductor, with panelists:

• Robert Farra, president and COO, MicroCHIPS
• Paul Gerrish, senior director, technology and design, Implantable Microsystems Technology, Medtronic
• Ivo Stivoric, CTO and vice president of new products, BodyMedia<?li>

MEMS in Consumer Products: if it seems like we have an iPad in every house, that’s because a massive proliferation of consumer electronics—enabled by MEMS—is filling our homes, schools, places of work and places of recreation with hundreds of millions of interactive mobile devices. Panelists will offer an insider’s look at what’s next on the horizon. Moderated by Evgeni Gousev, senior director, Technology R&D, Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, with panelists:

• Dragan Mladenovic, director of business management, Maxim Integrated Products, Sensor Division
• Will Turnage, vice president, Technology and Invention, R/GA

MEMS in Emerging Technologies: sponsored by OEM Group, this panel will examine new areas in which MEMS has either bridged the divide from R&D to commercialization—or is close to doing so. Moderated by Stephen Whalley, director, Sensors, Intel Architecture Group, Intel Corporation, with panelists:

• Steve Arms, president and CEO, MicroStrain
• Hughes Metras, vice president, strategic partnerships, North America, CEA-LETI
• Todd Miller, lab manager, MicroSystems and MicroFluidics, GE Global Research

Now in its eighth year, MEMS Executive Congress is an annual event that brings together business leaders from a broad spectrum of industries: automotive, consumer goods, energy/environmental, industrial, medical and telecom. It is a unique professional forum at which executives from companies designing and manufacturing MEMS technology sit side-by-side with their end-user customers in panel discussions and networking events to exchange ideas and information about the use of MEMS in commercial applications.