MINI COLLOQUIUM SEMICONDUCTORS IN REGION 9
The Mini Colloquium in Semiconductors held in Panama is an academic and professional event supported by the IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS). The colloquium aims to promote knowledge exchange and capacity building in the field of semiconductor technology, which is a key area for modern electronics, computing, and emerging digital technologies.
This event brings together researchers, university professors, students, and industry professionals to discuss recent advances in semiconductor devices, materials, and fabrication processes. Through technical talks, presentations, and collaborative discussions, participants explore topics such as microelectronics, integrated circuits, nanoelectronics, and the role of semiconductors in innovation and technological development.
The initiative is funded by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) through its EDS chapter support programs, which encourage local academic activities that strengthen research communities and foster international collaboration.
In Panama, the Mini Colloquium contributes to the development of local expertise in semiconductor technologies, encourages student participation in research, and promotes networking between universities, research centers, and global IEEE members. Ultimately, the event supports the growth of scientific capacity and technological innovation in the region.
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Speakers
Dr. Victor Grimblatt
Low Power Design for Sustainable Manufacturing in Agribusiness
Current climate change is negatively affecting agricultural production, primarily putting food security at risk in the future and causing substantial economic losses to the agri- food chain. On the other hand, agriculture is impacting the climate change being the responsible of at least one third of the Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions and without an important change on the way we produce food this number will continue to increase. Electronics and technology in general can play an important role on the change food production is requesting, however adding more electronics to the food production chain will increase the energy required by those
systems. Low power is a key component of sustainable manufacturing in agribusiness. Not only we have to design low power electronics, but we also have to consider the energy required for the manufacturing of systems. The talk will present first the impact of climate change in agriculture, then the impact of agriculture on climate change, and then how technology can help to mitigate it, and the different options for low power design and manufacturing.
Biography:
Victor Grimblatt earned his PhD on Electronics in 2021 from University of Bordeaux. An electronic engineering diploma from Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria (Chile). He got his He is currently R&D Group Director and General Manager of Synopsys Chile. He has published several papers in IoT, EDA, Smart Agriculture and embedded systems development. Since 2012 he is chair of the IEEE Chilean joint chapter EDS/SSCS/CASS. He created the EDS Chile chapter in 2018 He has been part of several conferences TCP (ISCAS, ICECS, LASCAS,LAEDC) and Steering Committees. He is member of the IEEE CASS Board of Governors for the period 2021 – 2023.
He founded the Electronics for Agrifood SIG at CASS and chairs it. He is CASS representative at the IEEE Climate Change TAB.In 2023 he was awarded as IEEE R9 Outstanding Engineer” Victor’s research areas are EDA (Electronic Design Automation), IoT, Climate Change, and Smart Agriculture.
Address:United States
Dr. Edmundo Gutiérrez
The impact of semiconductor materials and devices in human life
The widespread use of the electronics in computers, wireless communication systems, bank transactions, household appliances, electric vehicles, or a large variety of gadgets, has been possible thanks to the introduction of integrated circuit technologies based on semiconductors materials. Then, in this report, a description of the use of semiconductor materials in the design and fabrication of semiconductor devices, such as advanced transistor structures for integrated circuits, or various types of sensors, is introduced. Special attention is given to the use or modification, at the atomic scale, of semiconductor materials for their use in physical, chemical, and biological sensors. The sensors are considered as the sensorial appendixes of electronic systems that mimics the human being sensorial capacity. Therefore, the proper design, compatibility, and reliability of sensors become crucial for the development of the next generation of intelligent systems for medical, security, and environmental applications. All these aspects are addressed in this report.
Biography:
Dr. Edmundo A. Gutiérrez D. got his PhD in 1993 from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL) in Leuven, Belgium. The PhD work focused on the physics and electrical performance of submicron CMOS technologies for cryogenic applications. In 1993 was hired as a researcher at the Mexico National Institute for Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE in Spanish). From 2000 to 2002 was in charge, as a Design Manager, of the Motorola Mexico Center for Semiconductor Technologies. From 2005 to 2006 was the Technical Director of the Intel Mexico Systems Research Center. Dr. Gutiérrez has published more than 160 scientific papers in international journals and conference proceedings, is author of two books, and has supervised 17 PhD thesis. He is Editor-In- Chief of IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability, Editor of IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, IEEE Fellow member, and General Director of the Mexico National Institute for Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics.
Address:Mexico
Dr. Fernando Guarín
Leveraging semiconductor technology for the benefit of society
Thanks to relentless scaling, coupled with advances in materials and process integration of semiconductor devices have enabled the exponential growth of applications enabling sensors and information technologies that have transformed society. The level of instrumentation grows daily with ever increasing intelligence and ability to communicate and automate many processes and industries in what is now known as the Internet of Things (IoT) at much higher speeds with the upcoming advent of 5G. Thanks to these advances the world is already smaller and flatter. The reality of living in a globally integrated world is upon us and is presenting us with many opportunities and challenges. This increased information content gives us a unique path to alleviate and find solutions to the very serious problems that pose some of the most important issues facing the world today; Climate change, water scarcity, soil depletion, overpopulation and social interaction. As technology advances we must be reminded that we are all now connected – economically, technically and socially, sharing an increasingly fragile planet. But we are also learning that just being connected may not be sufficient. We must solve many problems. As engineers, we have the knowledge and the responsibility to do so. In this talk, we will discuss how advances in semiconductor technology and electron devices have benefited society and the world in which we live. The extraordinary advances in devices and materials have provided us with unprecedented amounts of solutions and information at continually decreasing costs. In this lecture I will provide tangible evidence to illustrate how Electron Devices are influencing society, enabling us to better use the energy in a more sustainable manner and changing our interaction with other people near and far. I will also show how the Electron Devices Society EDS is funding projects and engaging many talented members to provide tangible solutions. We are now able to provide many people the ability to have access to advanced technology even in the most remote corners of the planet. We must leverage these advances to expand global educational opportunities, access to clean water, all while helping to preserve a sustainable and greener environment. We will provide information on initiatives and access to funding for engineering projects at the local level. Ultimately we must always bear in mind that the large number of scientific and technological advances must produce tangible results for the benefit and progress of humanity.
Biography:
Dr. Fernando Guarín retired in July 2022 as a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Global Foundries in East Fishkill New York where he led the reliability team responsible for the qualification of 5G technologies. He retired from IBM’s SRDC 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 has been actively working in microelectronic reliability and the semiconductor industry for over 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 BiCMOS technologies. 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.
Address:United States
Dr. Jacobus Swart
Brazil´s Semiconductor Industry and Design House Ecosystem
We will describe the semiconductor industry in Brazil divided in two phases, namely the 20th century and the 21st century phases. Many foundries for discrete semiconductor devises were established in the country during the 20th century and one foundry was installed in the 70’s to fabricate bipolar discrete and integrated circuits. The production run until about the year 2000. More recently, about six fabs are doing IC packaging and testing and another ten ASIC design companies are operating in the country. These two enterprise niches are in expansion and present great opportunity to grow. The design houses were supported initially by an incentive program providing fellowships for engineers and a special training program for designers, called IC Brazil. More recently a new training program, called IC Innovator, was started for designers and is going on. In addition, an academic program for training students in the field of IC design was organized, to provide access to EAD tools and funds for prototyping ASICS. About 40 universities are associated to this program.
Biography:
Jacobus Swart received his bachelor and PhD of Engineering in 1975 and 1981 respectively, from the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil. After his PhD, he worked at the following institutions: KUL, Belgium; CTI, Campinas; EP/USP; SID Microelectronics; RTI, USA, and UNICAMP, as Full Professor. Since his retirement in June 2013, he has been a collaborating professor at UNICAMP. He served as director of the Center for Semiconductor Components at UNICAMP. He was director of the CTI in Campinas. He is a fellow researcher, by CNPq, is a member of the Academy of Sciences of the State of São Paulo, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and is an IEEE Life Fellow. He was President of SBMicro twice, Secretary of EDS/IEEE and member of the board (BoG) of EDS/IEEE for 2 terms of 6 years. In 2013 he founded the company JW Swart Innovation in Semiconductors and represented imec form Belgium until 2020. He is currently General Coordinator of INCT NAMITEC research network.
Address:Brazil
Agenda
IEEE Mini Colloquium in Semiconductor
Organized by IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS) – Panama Chapter
Proposed Agenda
Time: 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM
|
Time |
Activity |
Speaker |
|
8:00 – 8:15 |
Registration and Welcome Remarks |
IEEE EDS Panama Chapter |
|
8:15 – 9:00 |
Low Power Design for Sustainable Manufacturing in Agribusiness |
Dr. Victor Grimblatt |
|
9:00 – 9:45 |
The Impact of Semiconductor Materials and Devices in Human Life |
Dr. Edmundo A. Gutiérrez D. |
|
9:45 – 10:00 |
Coffee Break & Networking |
— |
|
10:00 – 10:45 |
Leveraging Semiconductor Technology for the Benefit of Society |
Dr. Fernando Guarín |
|
10:45 – 11:30 |
Brazil’s Semiconductor Industry and Design House Ecosystem |
Dr. Jacobus Swart |
|
11:30 – 12:15 |
Panel Discussion: The Future of Semiconductor Technologies in Latin America |
All Speakers |
|
12:15 – 12:45 |
Open Q&A with Speakers |
Moderated by IEEE EDS Panama |
|
12:45 – 1:00 |
Closing Remarks and Networking |
Organizing Committee |