Healthcare – High Technology Business Development

Coupling & Crosstalk: First World Problems

Coupling & Crosstalk is my column in the MEPTEC Report. This column appears in the Winter 2014 edition on pages 10-11.

Electronic coupling is the transfer of energy from one circuit or medium to another. Sometimes it is intentional and sometimes not (crosstalk). I hope that this column, by mixing technology and general observations, is thought provoking and “couples” with your thinking. Most of the time I will stick to technology but occasional crosstalk diversions may deliver a message closer to home.

First World Problems

Returning home with a carload of food for our Thanksgiving feast, we discovered our garage refrigerator had died. The only appropriate response other than panic was to Continue reading “Coupling & Crosstalk: First World Problems”

Trillion Sensors – TApps: Ultra-High Volume Sensor Applications for Global Challenges

Click image to download presentation — Click image to download San Diego TSensors Summit presentation (update of Munich)

It was my pleasure to organize and present at two TSensors Summits: Munich and San Diego this fall. The enthusiasm and intellectual “horsepower” of the presenters and attendees was incredible!

My presentations explain Continue reading “Trillion Sensors – TApps: Ultra-High Volume Sensor Applications for Global Challenges”

Coupling and Crosstalk: Medically Deficient Technology

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Coupling & Crosstalk is my column in the MEPTEC Report. This column appears in the Fall 2014 edition on pages 10-11.

Medically Deficient Technology

It has been a very challenging month helping my best friend who has been in an intensive care unit (ICU) following a stroke. It has been very difficult emotionally seeing him incapacitated as he makes a slow recovery with many ups and downs.

As expected, in a top-rated Silicon Valley hospital, technology abounds and permeates all aspects of patient care. However, I’ve observed many examples where Continue reading “Coupling and Crosstalk: Medically Deficient Technology”

Coupling & Crosstalk: Measuring Up

bathroom scale Coupling & Crosstalk is my column in the MEPTEC Report. This column appears in the Spring 2013 edition on page 14-15.

Electronic coupling is the transfer of energy from one circuit or medium to another. Sometimes it is intentional and sometimes not (crosstalk). I hope that this column by mixing technology and general observations is thought provoking and “couples” with your thinking. Most of the time I will stick to technology but occasional crosstalk diversions may deliver a message closer to home.

Measuring Up

Tap to turn on. Wait for it to zero. Step on. I haven’t lost any weight, still 205 pounds even with all this exercise and careful eating? Step off, step back on. 212 pounds. Damn, wrong answer. Step off, step back on. 206 pounds. Okay maybe the first reading was right. Optimistically record 205 pounds. Does this nightly dance sound familiar? Not only are bathroom scales the bearer of bad news, their Continue reading “Coupling & Crosstalk: Measuring Up”

SEMI ISS: Sense of Scale

Intel shows first fully patterned 450 mm semiconductor wafer at SEMI ISS 2013

Attending the SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) is like drinking from a fire hose with the additional risk of whiplash. Don’t get me wrong, it is an exquisite fire hose but sometimes the data presented can be overwhelming at this conference of semiconductor supply chain executives. The majority of the attendees and presenters are executives from the SEMI member companies that develop the equipment, materials, processes, and technology used to build, test, and package semiconductors. And the executives present from the semiconductor manufacturers are typically the “end customers”.

The greatest value of SEMI ISS, beyond the networking, is the strategic overview of the entire semiconductor ecosystem. What are the market drivers, the technology needed, and the roadmap status of this industry? It is true that we all know where we need to head courtesy of Moore’s Law and the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors which attempts to keep us on that trajectory. The pressure of consumers ~~needing~~ wanting greater functionality at lower costs is relentless. Much of the technological detail of this ecosystem is addressed in a myriad of other forums throughout the year. ISS ties these technical requirements, development needs, and business needs back to the strategic direction and desires of the global marketplace.

The whiplash comes from Continue reading “SEMI ISS: Sense of Scale”

IEEE Nanotechnology Symposium 2011 – Keynote

The IEEE San Francisco Bay Area Nanotechnology Council held their 7th annual symposium this week. As in the past, the council presents an excellent program. This year’s program focused was “Nanotechnology – Consumer Applications.”

Here are my notes from the keynote presentation by Dr. Spike Narayan, Functional Manager IBM, “Nanotechnology: Leveraging Semiconductor Technologies to Address Global Challenges.”

He asks: can we leverage semiconductor technology to address global challenges of environment, energy, healthcare, and water? Others have made a compelling argument that Continue reading “IEEE Nanotechnology Symposium 2011 – Keynote”