Changing technologies
OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY

Minorities & women seize opportunities in the semiconductor industry

Companies agree that a diverse workforce spurs commercial success

By Dachell McSween
Contributing Editor

Dr Fayé Briggs is chief performance architect for Intel's digital enterprise group.

Emily Swogger: Micron tech training lead.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) notes that worldwide sales of semis reached $21.9 billion for October 2006, an increase of more than 9 percent from October 2005 when sales were $20.01 billion. SIA expects that a strong demand will increase yearly sales to $321 billion in 2009.

Other analysts see a variety of outlooks for industry segments, but most forecast at least modest growth this year and next.

The employment outlook in the semiconductor industry is less clear, but the hiring outlook seems strongest for engineers who design chips, manufacturing processes and equipment. Leading semiconductor companies realize the benefits of a diverse workforce and seek out talented minorities and women, like the ones interviewed for this article.

TI: developing diverse leaders
Texas Instruments (TI, Dallas, TX) is a leader in digital signal processing and analog technologies. The company provides semiconductor solutions for large markets including wireless and broadband access, digital cameras and digital audio for emerging markets. TI also develops and commercializes semi technology for cellular handsets, microcontrollers and more.

"TI is a stronger company because of our diverse culture. Our ability to leverage all available talent and develop diverse leaders is critical to our continued success," says Rich Templeton, TI president and CEO.

Colette Kelly manages manufacturing at TI

Colette Kelly.

One of TI's talented leaders is Colette Kelly, a manufacturing manager at East Building Test, the company's largest probe facility. Kelly joined TI in 1999, first working as a manufacturing supervisor.

As a manager, she created a staffing model to improve morale, reducing turnover from 18 to 8 percent within a year. She also increased skill level within the manufacturing management team, using both internal and external resources. Some 300 to 400 people report to her directly or indirectly.

As a student at Lutheran High School North in St. Louis, MO, Kelly set her sights on engineering. "I knew I had good math and science skills as well as good communication and writing skills, so I decided to go for it," she says.

She received her BSME from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1992 and later completed an MBA in engineering and technology management from the University of Dallas (Irving, TX).

After she got her BS, Kelly worked as a project engineer with McCarthy Brothers Construction Co (Milwaukee, WI). She oversaw construction of a nine-story, $40 million addition to the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

In 1994 she moved to Laughinghouse Consultants (Milwaukee, WI), preparing construction documents for the Milwaukee metropolitan sewer district for CH2M Hill. In 1996 she became a manufacturing engineer at Harley Davidson Motor Co (Milwaukee, WI), providing engineering support to the manufacturing areas of four upper-engine components for Harley's Powertrain ops.

In 1999 she joined TI as a manufacturing supervisor, and used her engineering skills to solve problems that impacted 75 percent of her facility's population. Now her manufacturing team has a significant impact on TI's largest probe floor.

In 2003 Kelly was nominated for the National Society of Black Engineers' Engineer of the Year award for her work at East Building Test. "I was honored to be considered," she says.

She has headed TI's manufacturing managers' council and co-sponsored the women's initiative network for TI's technology and manufacturing group. She's now the director for TI's black employees' initiative.

She is also dedicated to telling young people about engineering, currently through her work with Texas Leadership. She tells kids and young professionals that there are important opportunities for women and minorities in the semiconductor industry.

"The semiconductor industry is very focused and absolutely a growing field for engineers and managers," she declares.

Micron encourages young women

Audrea Wirta.

Micron Technology, Inc (Boise, ID) provides advanced semiconductor solutions. Its products can be found in HDTVs, audio systems, MP3 players, digital cameras and mobile phones. Micron has operations in nineteen countries, providing design, manufacturing, sales and support to customers worldwide.

The company encourages young women to think about engineering through a variety of programs, including panels for high school girls and an e-mail mentoring initiative that connects teens to women techies offering insight into the world of technology.

In 2004 Micron joined the Boise State University College of Engineering (Boise, ID), the Society of Women Engineers and the Boise School District to implement E-Girls. This is a program that introduces ninth and tenth grade girls to engineering disciplines through hands-on activities in the university setting. The girls might look into the mechanics of high-heel shoes or the physics of rock climbing, and they also learn about careers in technology.

Micron's K12 website showcases women engineers and highlights scholarship and camp opportunities for young women. Priming the pipe-line in this way makes good corporate sense, says Audrea Wirta, HR manager at Micron's Manassas, VA site. "To maintain our position in the competitive global arena, we need intelligent, skilled and innovative people. Our team members bring a diverse set of skills and backgrounds that drive innovation and performance."

Emily Swogger: training engineers at Micron

Emily Swogger.

Emily Swogger is an engineering training lead at Micron's Manassas, VA site. In 2000 she got her BSChE from Montana State University and went to work for Micron as a process engineer.

She recently transitioned into her supervisory role as engineering trainer. She trains all new hires at her facility and helps keep the engineering team current on new technology and processes. She's also pursuing an MA in adult education at Strayer University (Washington, DC).

Chemistry runs in her family, Swogger notes. Two of her grandparents were research chemists for DuPont. One of her sisters has a BS in chemistry and is currently in med school, the other is a ChE working on a PhD in EnvE. Her brother, the youngest of the kids, is at the U.S. Naval Academy majoring in chemistry.

Swogger was involved with the Society of Women Engineers as a student. "To have a support network of other women is great for female engineers," she says. Today she volunteers with Micron's K12 and e-mail mentoring programs and speaks at conferences.

"When I started college, I really did not know the semiconductor industry existed. It's important for young women to know about all the various job opportunities in engineering," she says.

Microchip: a work culture to be proud of

Lauren Carr.

Microchip Technology Inc (Chandler, AZ) makes field-programmable RISC microcontrollers which serve 8-bit and 16-bit embedded control apps, and a broad spectrum of high-performance linear and mixed-signal power and thermal management devices.

Lauren Carr, director of HR, notes that the company expects about 150 openings across all regions for the rest of this year. "We expect that our new hires will like it here," she adds. "We have a great mix of ethnic backgrounds and women working at Microchip. We are very proud of our work culture."

EE Jorge Zambada supports Microchip's field apps

Jorge Zambada.

As an applications engineer in Microchip's digital signal controller division, Jorge Zambada helps field apps engineers who have motor-control questions. He also works with customers in Asia and Europe who have development needs for their motor-control apps, and creates documentation to help customers use Microchip's 16-bit products in motor control.

Engineering definitely runs in Zambada's family. His father, mother, two brothers and a sister are all engineers. A native of Mexico, he received his 2001 BSEE from the Monterrey Institute of Technology (Guadalajara, Mexico). In college he interned at Motorola, and when he graduated he went to work for Motorola in Mexico as an apps engineer focused on motor control.

In 2004 he joined Microchip. "Since I've been in the U.S., I've made many friends from both here and other countries. They have helped me with my language skills," he says. He considers that the diverse people he meets, both from the U.S. and abroad, are definitely a benefit of working at Microchip.

VP Kathy Clevenger leads Microchip's Fab 4 ops

Kathy Clevenger.

Kathy Clevenger is VP of Fab 4 ops for Microchip's wafer-manufacturing facility, responsible for manufacturing Microchip's semiconductor products in Gresham, OR. There are some 320 people at the site.

Clevenger has been with Microchip since the company began in 1989, working in process engineering and production management. Before joining Microchip she worked at Intel as a yield-enhancement engineer.

She grew up in Rockford, IL and went on to a 1985 BSEE from the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign and an MSIE from Arizona State University.

Clevenger says she's seen many changes in her years in the semiconductor industry. "Manufacturing is much more automated now, the equipment and processes are far more complex and capital costs are much higher.ÊI think all this has changed the environment to be more structured and risk-averse."

But while the industry has moved on, her experience as a woman engineer has not changed much. "There are still far fewer women engineers and technical managers than men," she says.

"This has never been a source of problems in my career, but I'm surprised it has not changed more over the past twenty years."

Darren Hooks manages computing products at ON Semi

Darren Hooks.

ON Semiconductor (Phoenix, AZ) makes an extensive line of analog integrated circuit products. They're used in power supplies, advanced digital computing logic and communication systems, and sold to manufacturers of autos, power supplies, computers, games, mobile devices and communications: equipment used for security, convenience and entertainment. ON has a number of development centers and manufacturing sites in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Darren Hooks is principal program manager for ON's computing products group. He manages wafer fabrication, product assembly and testing for about 60 percent of the Signal and Interface business unit's products.

When Hooks was growing up in Atlanta, GA, he made a practice of taking apart his family's electronic devices to see how they worked. "I was amazed and delighted at the complexity of the internal electronic circuitry," he explains.

In high school Hooks took advanced course in various areas. It was his English teacher and a guidance counselor who pushed him toward college and engineering. He got his BSEE from Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, AL) in 1987, and in 1998 he received an MBA in technology management from the University of Phoenix (Phoenix, AZ).

Hooks has worked for Motorola (Scottsdale, AZ) in various areas. He's been a software engineer for Motorola's government electronics group, a senior systems engineer for Motorola's space and systems technology group and senior project manager for Motorola's systems solutions group. Later he was a senior product marketer for Intel Corp (Chandler, AZ). He has served in the U.S. Air Force for nearly twenty years and is now in his fifth year as a squadron commander in the Air Force Reserve.

Throughout his years in the semiconductor industry, Hooks has seen the evolution of markets in the computing, automotive, consumer and gaming industries. "This industry is very competitive. But it is a field where minorities can find challenges and opportunities every day, become successful and make a huge impact in the technology world."

Tushar Patel markets National's amplifier line

Tushar Patel.

National Semiconductor (Santa Clara, CA) makes power management circuits, display drivers, audio and operational amplifiers and products for communication interface and data conversion. The company's products are used in wireless handsets, displays, and medical, automotive, industrial and test and measurement applications.

EE Tushar Patel is senior product marketing engineer for National's amplifier line. When Patel is not visiting domestic and international customers or in meetings working on short- and long-term strategies, he's developing collateral materials and presentations.

Patel is a first-generation Asian American, born and raised in California. His parents came to the U.S. from India in 1979 and became small business owners. Patel got his 2002 BSEE from Santa Clara University.

In college he interned with a startup engineering firm and as a sales rep for a brokerage. "The combined experience of these internships helped me decide what I wanted out of a career, and they also helped refine my interpersonal skills, which are vital in a marketing role."

When he graduated, that experience helped him land his first job. He became a technical marketing engineer through National's product-line marketing rotation program.

He spent three months in sales in National's Dallas, TX office, and learned about marketing, manufacturing and Web tools at the company's Santa Clara HQ. "I was trained on systems, procedures, technologies and best practices, and eventually took my current role as a product marketing engineer in a product line," he explains happily.

Computer architect Dr Fayé Briggs drives performance at Intel

Dr Fayé Briggs.

Intel (Santa Clara, CA) makes microprocessors and chipsets used in all major computing segments worldwide. The company also makes PC motherboards, communications and storage products, and Flash memory.

In Intel's Hillsboro, OR facility, Fayé Briggs, PhD is chief performance architect for the digital enterprise group. He helps incorporate architectural features in the platform roadmap, leading to "delivery of best-in-class performance."

His prime responsibility, he explains, is to "drive strategic innovation and vision in design through the amalgamation of engineering knowledge, marketing constraints and evolution in usage models."

Despite his PhD in EE and computer engineering, Briggs claims he was not a good student at the beginning of high school. "If it wasn't for my mentor, Mr Yinka Odukoya, I probably wouldn't be an engineer today," he says.

Odukoya was Briggs' physics and math tutor at Methodist Boys High School in Lagos, Nigeria. Briggs credits him with turning his inquisitive young mind to physics and math, and sparking his interest in engineering.

Set on the right road by this strong mentor, Briggs completed a 1971 BSEE at Ahmadu Bello University (Zaria, Nigeria). He came to the U.S. for his 1974 MSEE from Stanford University (Stanford, CA), then a 1977 PhD at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign. In college he interned with Shell-BP and Stanford Linear Accelerator.

Armed with his PhD, Briggs became an assistant professor at Purdue University's school of electrical and computer engineering (West Lafayette, IN) from 1976 to 1982, and a tenured associate professor at Rice University (Houston, TX) from 1982 to 1987. As technical professors do, Briggs worked as a consultant for a number of corporations, including Exxon, IBM, TI and Sun Microsystems. Eventually he moved into a fulltime position with Sun, and from there to his Intel job.

Briggs considers himself a prime example of his own strong belief that a good education can open opportunities anywhere.

Otto Burston leads teams at Intel

Otto Burston.

Last year Otto Burston became a commodity specialist, the primary interface between Intel's wireless business unit and its supply base. He manages the supplier selection and procurement process and strategy for Centrino wireless cards.

As a high school student in Baltimore, MD, Burston attended engineering programs at Morgan State University (Baltimore, MD) and Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, AL). "My father introduced me to those programs and it played a big part in my decision to pursue engineering," says Burston.

He got his 1998 BSEE and 2002 MSEE with a concentration in semiconductors from North Carolina A&T University. Then he went to work for Intel in Hillsboro, OR as a process engineer, co-managing teams of manufacturing technicians, and moved on to his current commodity position. In both jobs, he says, he's had the pleasure of working in a team atmosphere with people from diverse backgrounds.

"Success in these jobs involves working with a team and moving that team in a positive direction," he explains. "You have to produce and do your best possible work in order to become successful."

D/C

Dachell McSween is a freelance writer and communications consultant living in the Bronx, NY.

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