NAE Members Selected for Board of Trustees of National Semiconductor Technology Center

National Academy of Engineering (NAE) members Craig R. Barrett, Nicholas M. (Nick) Donofrio, and James D. (Jim) Plummer have been selected to serve on the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) board of trustees.

“The NAE is pleased that NAE members Nick Donofrio, Craig Barrett, and Jim Plummer have been selected to serve as members of the board of trustees for the NSTC,” said NAE President John L. Anderson. “Their leadership demonstrates a core value of the NAE, which is utilizing their expertise to serve the nation.”

Barrett was elected to the NAE in 1994 for technical leadership in advancing quality and productivity through manufacturing technology in the semiconductor industry. Donofrio was elected to the NAE in 1995 for contributions in the development of semi-conductor memory and technical leadership in computers. Plummer was elected to the NAE in 1996 for contributions to the understanding and application of semiconductor materials and processing to integrated circuit. The three are among a total of seven experts tapped to serve on the NSTC board of trustees.

The newly selected board members will now begin the process of creating a nonprofit entity that is expected to run the NSTC and hire executive leadership. The goal is to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the US and secure our position as the world leader in semiconductor R&D.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the US Department of Commerce, announced the selection of the incoming board of trustees on Thursday. Once operational, the NSTC will function as the primary research and development component of the Department of Commerce’s CHIPS for America program. 

According to the strategy paper released by NIST in April 2023, the NSTC has three high-level goals:

1. Extend America’s leadership in semiconductor technology.
2. Reduce the time and cost of moving from design idea to commercialization.
3. Build and sustain a semiconductor workforce development ecosystem.

As detailed by NIST, “The NSTC will be a hub of collaboration for members of the entire semiconductor manufacturing and supplier ecosystem and will accelerate the pace of innovation and help lower the cost and time required to bring new technologies to market.”

Learn more about the new board of trustees selected to serve as leaders in operating the NSTC here.

For more information on the NSTC structure and strategy, see A Vision and Strategy for the National Semiconductor Technology Center, published in April 2023.

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