MIG launches MEMS conference track

DESIGN WEST 2012, SAN JOSE, USA: MEMS Industry Group (MIG), the industry organization advancing micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) across global markets, will kick off a two-day conference program exploring MEMS in vertical markets at UBM Electronics’ conference-within-a-conference: Sensors in Design at DESIGN West (March 28-29, 2012, San Jose, CA).

With MEMS devices embedded by the hundreds of millions in mobile handsets, tablets, laptops, video games, automotive safety systems, Quality of Life (QoL) applications, wireless sensor networks, and other vertical applications, design engineers are increasingly integrating these tiny micro-machines with DSPs, microprocessors, software algorithms and mobile operating systems to improve the user experience with electronic devices.

“MEMS is changing the way that we experience the world around us, altering our relationship with all things electronic,” said Karen Lightman, MD, MEMS Industry Group. “Reverse-engineer the iPhone 4, for example, and you will find an accelerometer, a gyro, MEMS microphones and an electronic compass. Earlier this year Samsung began shipping the first RF MEMS device found in a commercial application, and someday soon a mobile handset OEM will no doubt become the first to include a pressure sensor in a phone to enable indoor navigation. Mobile phones are just one application area in which MEMS plays an important role. There are countless others, and design engineers are chomping at the bit to understand the capabilities MEMS offers within the hardware-software ecosystem.”

The MEMS track at Sensors in Design 2012 features:

Day One: “MEMS” (March 28, 2012)—chaired by Alissa Fitzgerald, PhD, founder and managing member, A.M. Fitzgerald & Associates, and member of MEMS Industry Group. Sessions will include:

o Panel: “Future of the MEMS Market: New and Innovative Applications”—with Rob O’Reilly, member technical staff, MEMS Sensors, Analog Devices; Dave Rothenberg, worldwide marketing manager, Movea; and Stephen Whalley, director, Sensors, Intel Architecture Group, Intel Corporation.

o Presentations: “MEMS Enabling Healthcare Maintenance and Monitoring: Improving Quality of Life”—with Nancy Dougherty, electrical engineer, Proteus Biomedical; Alissa Fitzgerald, PhD, founder and managing member, A.M. Fitzgerald & Associates; and Peter Himes, vice president of marketing and strategic alliances, Silex Microsystems.

o Presentations: “MEMS in Consumer Products, Hand-held Electronics and Mobile Devices”—with William Gatliff, consultant; Michael Housholder, senior director of business development, InvenSense; and Davin Yuknis, vice president of sales and marketing, Akustica.

o Presentations: “MEMS Sensor Fusion and System Design”—Jay Esfandyari, MEMS product marketing manager, STMicroelectronics; Hughes Metras, vice president, strategic partnerships, North America, CEA-Leti; and Michael Stanley, systems engineer, Freescale Semiconductor.

Day Two: “MEMS and Smart Sensing” (March 29, 2012)—chaired by Karen Lightman, MD, MEMS Industry Group. Sessions will include:

o Panel: “Moving from Conventional Analog to Smart Digital Sensors: Practical Advice for Engineers”—Peter Adrian, principal analyst and research manager, Technical Insights, Frost & Sullivan; Brian MacCleery, product manager for clean energy technology, National Instruments; and James (Jamie) Wiczer, PhD, founder and president, Sensor Synergy.

o Presentations: “Sensors for the Smart Grid”—Rajesh Lakhiani, director of strategic operations, CURRENT; and Brian MacCleery, product manager for clean energy technology, National Instruments.

o Panel: “MEMS in Sports”—Romain Lazerand, business development, Syride; Karen Lightman, managing director, MEMS Industry Group; Rob O’Reilly, member technical staff, MEMS Sensors, Analog Devices; Jack McCauley, director of R&D, R0R3 DEVICES; and Per Slycke, CTO and founder, Xsens.

o Presentations: “Smart Sensor Product Roadmaps”—Joseph Doll, mechanical engineering ME, Stanford University; and James (Jamie) Wiczer, PhD, founder and president, Sensor Synergy.