IEEE elects three Texas Instruments' engineers to Fellow

TI engineers recognized by technical community for innovation, impact on the semiconductor industry

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Dec 07, 2011, 09:00 ET

DALLAS, Dec. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) today announced the election of three of its engineers to IEEE Fellow, a distinction reserved for select IEEE members whose extraordinary accomplishments are deemed fitting of this prestigious honor.

TI's Ajith Amerasekera, director of Kilby Labs, Ahmad Bahai, Analog Chief Technology Officer, and Luigi Colombo, TI Fellow in the External Development and Manufacturing (EDM) group, received the IEEE's highest level of membership for their innovative contributions in the semiconductor industry. They join 19 other TI engineers who hold the prestigious title of IEEE Fellow.

"Innovation is the foundation upon which TI's 80-plus year history is built," said Rich Templeton, chairman, president and CEO of Texas Instruments. "The election to IEEE Fellow is an extraordinary accomplishment, recognizing those who have driven significant innovations impacting our industry and the world we live in. We're fortunate to have some of the brightest minds working at TI."

Each of these individuals is being recognized for his unique contributions to the electrical engineering community.

Dr. Ajith Amerasekera received this honor for his leadership in semiconductor innovation and contributions to circuit design. His background includes research into high-current and high-voltage effects in submicron CMOS technologies led to the first predictive models in practical device and circuit simulators and resulted in an improved understanding of semiconductor device robustness, including electrostatic discharge (ESD), latchup physics and circuit-level gate oxide integrity. In 2008, Dr. Amerasekera was chosen to lead Kilby Labs, TI's high-risk innovation centers focused entirely on delivering breakthrough technology. He has 30 issued patents and has published more than 100 papers in technical journals and conferences, in addition to four books on semiconductor electronics. He has served on the technical program committees of a number of international conferences and is currently the general chair of the 2012 VLSI Symposium on Circuits.

Dr. Ahmad Bahai is being recognized for his contributions to multi-carrier wireless and wire-line communication systems. Dr. Bahai is the chief technology officer (CTO) of TI's Analog business and director of TI's analog and mixed-signal labs. He was previously CTO of National Semiconductor and director of research labs at National Semiconductor. He also is an adjunct professor at Stanford University and University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Bahai co-invented the multi-carrier spread spectrum theory, which is being used in many modern communication systems, such as 4G and power line communication. He authored the first textbook on orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) in 1999 and served as the associate editor of IEEE journals for five years. He currently serves on the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) technical steering committee. Dr. Bahai has more than 120 IEEE/IEE publications and 26 issued and two pending patents on systems and circuits.

Dr. Luigi Colombo is recognized for his contributions to infrared (IR) detectors and high-k gate dielectrics. His work is extensive; highlights include the development of the HgCdTe growth process that propelled TI's former defense business into a leadership position in producing IR detectors for military imaging applications, such as night vision and heat-seeking missiles. This basic process is still used by other companies today for both commercial and military applications. Dr. Colombo has also played a leadership role in establishing and identifying the high-k materials technology currently used by the semiconductor industry. He has authored more than 130 articles in journals and proceedings, participated in more than 50 invited and 90 contributed presentations, and written three book chapters on subjects relating to IR detector materials and high-k dielectrics. Dr. Colombo holds 73 U.S. and 18 international patents, with an additional 20 patents pending in the areas of IR materials, ferroelectric memories, high-k, metal gates, device integration and graphene.

Innovation at Texas Instruments

Innovation is at the core of TI's business. Over the last three years, the company has invested $5 billion in R&D. TI's comprehensive innovation strategy includes funding and collaborating with universities and industry consortia, incubating breakthrough ideas in Kilby Labs, executing competitive roadmaps within TI's business units and specialized labs, and developing world-class manufacturing technologies. This approach allows TI to develop, evaluate, refine and capitalize on the technology advancements that enable differentiated products to meet our customers' evolving needs. Learn more at www.ti.com/innovation.

About IEEE and the IEEE Fellow Program

The IEEE Grade of Fellow is conferred by the IEEE Board of Directors upon a person with an outstanding record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The total number selected in any one year cannot exceed one-tenth of one- percent of the total voting membership. IEEE Fellow is the highest grade of membership and is recognized by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement. 321 individuals have been elevated to IEEE Fellow for 2011.

The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) is the world's leading professional association for advancing technology for humanity. Through its 385,000 members in 160 countries, the association is a leading authority on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics.

About Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments semiconductor innovations help 80,000 customers unlock the possibilities of the world as it could be – smarter, safer, greener, healthier and more fun. Our commitment to building a better future is ingrained in everything we do – from the responsible manufacturing of our semiconductors, to caring for our employees, to giving back inside our communities. This is just the beginning of our story. Learn more at www.ti.com.

SOURCE Texas Instruments Incorporated