By Karen Lightman, executive director, MEMS Industry Group
Munich, Germany is one of my favorite cities in the world. If you agree or if you’ve never been there, I have the perfect opportunity for you to join me: MEMS Industry Group’s (MIG’s) MEMS Executive Congress Europe 2014 will be held at the beautiful Sofitel Hotel Bayerpost on March 10-11. The theme of our third European Congress is the “MEMS-enabled life,” and I don’t think there’s a more perfect city to exemplify an enhanced quality of life than Munich.
Congress attendees will get a rare inside look at the business of MEMS as they hear first-hand from (and interact with) keynote speakers, featured presenters and panelists. Plus we’ll have lots of time for networking, including an opening reception on March 10 and a fabulous dinner at the Augustiner Braustuben Biergarten on the night of March 11.
Our morning keynote speaker, Rudi De Winter, CEO of X-FAB Group, will share his thoughts on the commercial, technical, manufacturability, market and investment risks in developing MEMS business, detailing how to overcome them to reap rewards. Mr. De Winter will also provide examples of MEMS and 3D heterogeneous integration by sharing the investment story in two startups: MicroGen Systems (energy harvesting) and X-Celeprint (mass micro-transfer printing technology). As a big fan of Rob Andosca and MicroGen, I am really looking forward to hearing Mr. De Winter’s perspective on energy harvesting and in particular, MicroGen.
Our afternoon keynote speaker, Klaus Meder, president of Automotive Electronics at Robert Bosch, will explore “MEMS in Our Connected World.” I am especially excited to hear Mr. Meder’s speech as he gave the keynote at our MEMS session at 2013 International CES, and he revealed some of Bosch’s plans to revolutionize the way we connect to our world. This is when the concept of the “Internet of Things (IoT) comes home, literally. With IoT-enabled home appliances, my Bosch dishwasher could talk to my clothes washer so they don’t take all my hot water before my teenager takes a shower. (God forbid she doesn’t have enough water!). And I love the idea of an IoT-enabled car talking to other cars to warn them of icy roads ahead (which would really come in handy here in Pittsburgh where all our side streets are covered in two inches of ice). I look forward to that world, where my life will be enhanced in very simple ways, thanks to MEMS.
While many of us might be swept away by the amazing consumer-focused products that MEMS makes possible, there is a big world beyond consumer, in which industrial applications t will truly revolutionize we manage critical business functions. We have brought in a respected industry luminary, Dr. Jörk Habenstreit, managing director for Research & Development Technology Software, Testo, to share his perspectives on the role of MEMS and sensors in some of these industrial applications. From food processing, transport and storage to clean room integrity, building thermography, and gas leak detection, MEMS-based test and measurement instrumentation from companies like Testo are improving business operations in a variety of ways.
With the focus of the entire European Congress is on the business of MEMS, we’ll also include panel discussions to drill down into specific market areas, including consumer, health/wellness and automotive. We’ve worked extra hard this year to make sure we hear from a wide array of opinions and perspectives so you’ll see some folks from research sitting alongside industry veterans, giving us their thoughts on the future market potential for MEMS-enabling products. I think it’s important to get a diversity of opinions on panels and I am confident this year’s European Congress will not disappoint. You can check out the agenda for the full list of speakers and the descriptions of the panels.
MEMS Executive Congress Europe checks all the boxes: great content and speakers, networking time with MEMS industry execs and OEM users, and an unbeatable location in Munich. Hope you’ll join me there!
