Commerce Department Appoints Inaugural Members to Industrial Advisory Committee

The Department of Commerce appointed the first members of its Industrial Advisory Committee—an advisory group that will provide guidance to the Secretary of Commerce on a variety of issues about semiconductor research and development in support of the CHIPS for America program—last week. The program is part of the strategy under the $50 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which became law in August.

The agency added the inaugural 24 members with Mike Splinter, former CEO of Applied Materials, serving as chair and Susan Feindt, a fellow and executive at Analog Devices, serving as vice chair of the committee. 

Other members come from a range of specialties within the sector, including industry, labs and academia: 

• James Ang, chief scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Daniel Armbrust, founder/chief executive officer, Silicon Catalyst
• Susie Armstrong, senior vice president of engineering, Qualcomm
• Ahmad Bahai, chief technology officer, Texas Instruments
• Bill Chappell, Vice president of technology, Microsoft
• Michael Fritze, vice president of microelectronics policy, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies
• Charles Gray, vice president of digital systems technology, Ford Motor Company
• Carol Handwerker, Reinhardt Schuhmann, Jr. professor of materials engineering & professor of environmental and ecological engineering, Purdue University
• Deirdre Hanford, chief security officer, Synopsys
• Rajarao Jammy, chief technology officer, MITRE Engenuity
• Ken Joyce, executive vice president, Brewer Science
• Ann Kelleher, executive vice president of tech development, Intel Corporation
• Mukesh Khare, vice president, IBM Research
• Meredith LaBeau, chief technology officer, Calumet Electronics
• Tsu-Jae King Liu, dean of the College of Engineering, University of California Berkley
• Om Nalamasu, chief technology officer, Applied Materials
• Debo Olaosebikan, chief executive officer and founder, Kepler Computing
• Alex Oscilowski, president, TEL America
• Willy Shih, Robert and Jane Cizik professor of management practice in business administration, Harvard Business School
• Brandon Tucker, chief workforce development officer, Washtenaw Community College
• H.S. Philip Wong, Willard R. and Inez Kerr Bell professor in the School of Engineering, Stanford University
• Anthony Yen, vice president of technology and director of ASML Technology Center

“CHIPS for America is a once-in-a-generation investment that will position the United States to lead the world in semiconductor research, manufacturing, design, entrepreneurship and innovation for decades to come,” Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo said. “The experienced and diverse group of accomplished leaders on the Industrial Advisory Committee will help guide our approach to semiconductor research and innovation, as we strengthen America’s global competitiveness.”

The committee was established by Congress as part of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act of 2021. It will give advice on the science and technology needs of the domestic microelectronics industry, research and development programs, the U.S. strategy on microelectronics research and other advanced microelectronic endeavors funded via CHIPS for America, as well as opportunities for partnerships between the public and private sectors.