Semiconductor industry veteran and SEMI president and CEO Ajit Manocha will be inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame on February 19, 2020. The Silicon Valley Engineering Council (SVEC) is honoring Manocha for championing industry collaboration and driving manufacturing efficiency in multiple leadership roles, as well as for his work as one of the pioneers of reactive ion etching and manufacturing process flows for logic and memory chips that serve as the foundation for modern microelectronics manufacturing.
“Ajit Manocha is a welcome and deserving addition to the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame,” said Yuval Wasserman, president and CEO of Advanced Energy Industries Inc., who nominated Manocha. “He is well-respected for improving manufacturing efficiency, serving as a mentor, promoting diversity, and building partnerships to advance microelectronics. He has continued to serve the industry at SEMI with visionary programs to facilitate global collaboration and innovation.”
“Joining founders of the microelectronics industry such as Gordon Moore and Bob Noyce in the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame is an honor beyond compare,” said Manocha. “It has been a great privilege to help advance the industry and to continue to sow the seeds of innovation at SEMI. This honor is a humbling inspiration for me to continue to build on the legacy of every past inductee by supporting and mentoring current and future leaders to drive innovation for both societal and economic prosperity worldwide.”
At SEMI, Manocha has re-positioned the organization to address emerging challenges and opportunities for SEMI members around the globe. SEMI is broadening its reach across the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain, growing its global advocacy program to promote fair trade and strengthen its public policy influence, and expanding its workforce development and diversity programs and other initiatives to propel innovation across the industry.
In addition to the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame honor, VLSI Research very recently named Manocha a 2019 All Star of the Semiconductor Industry for expanding SEMI’s scope to represent the broader electronics supply chain. Both recognitions are rooted in his passion for enabling industry growth and innovation at SEMI and throughout his career.
Manocha began his career as a research scientist at AT&T Bell Laboratories, where he was granted over a dozen patents related to reactive ion etching and semiconductor manufacturing processes. He went on to hold senior global operations leadership roles at Philips Semiconductors (NXP) and Spansion before serving as president and CEO at GLOBALFOUNDRIES and, currently, SEMI. Manocha also served as an advisor to President Obama on the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering committee and on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
