US Department of Commerce Announces CHIPS for US R&D Leaders

WASHINGTON, DC In remarks to the Industrial Advisory Committee today, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Laurie E. Locascio, will announce five leaders joining the CHIPS Research and Development Office within CHIPS for America. CHIPS for America was established by landmark legislation to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the US and solidify the nation’s leadership in technology and innovation.

While the production incentives of the CHIPS Act will bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the US, the CHIPS R&D programs will ensure America’s global leadership by creating a robust semiconductor R&D ecosystem, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said. These leaders bring exactly the depth and breadth of organizational, programmatic and technical leadership experience CHIPS needs to build new, transformational R&D programs.

We are building a national R&D ecosystem that will ensure that our burgeoning semiconductor manufacturing base remains one of the most technologically advanced in the world, Locascio said. To turn CHIPS’ R&D programs into vibrant centers of innovation, we need the best people in the country to execute our vision. These are the experts who will advance CHIPS for America and the country’s semiconductor industry.

The announced CHIPS Research and Development (R&D) Office leaders are:

• Lora Weiss, Director
• Eric Lin, Deputy Director
• Neil Alderoty, executive officer
• Richard Duane Chambers, Deputy Director Integration and Policy
• Marla Dowell, Director of the CHIPS R&D Metrology Program

CHIPS for America includes the CHIPS Program Office, responsible for semiconductor incentives, and the CHIPS R&D Office, responsible for four integrated programs that will generate innovations that make US semiconductor manufacturers globally competitive. The four programs are the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program, up to three new Manufacturing USA institutes dedicated to semiconductors, and the CHIPS R&D Metrology Program.

Leaders of the CHIPS research and development agency

Lora Weiss, Director of CHIPS Research and Development

Lora Weiss will serve as director of the CHIPS R&D office. Weiss joins the office from Pennsylvania State University, where she is senior vice president of research and oversees research at 12 academic colleges, seven interdisciplinary research institutes, the Applied Research Lab (a naval research center affiliated with the university) and offices for sponsored programs, research protection, industrial partnerships, technology transfer, innovation, economic development and commercialization. Weiss also chairs the Penn State Research Foundation, which catalyzes the commercial translation of research into application. Prior to Penn State, Weiss spent 13 years at Georgia Tech, most recently serving as senior vice president and interim director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, a university-affiliated military research center. Weiss is an accomplished scholar and educator with more than 30 years of experience in higher education. An expert in robotics and unmanned systems, Weiss has advanced the capabilities of unmanned air, ground, sea and submarine vehicles, including human-machine teaming. Weiss received her Ph.D. in acoustics from Penn State, her master’s degree in mathematics from UCLA, and her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Boston University.

Eric Lin, Deputy Director of CHIPS Research and Development

After serving as Interim Director of CHIPS R&D since September 2022, representing CHIPS nationally and helping shape its programs, Eric Lin will continue to serve CHIPS as Deputy Director of R&D. Previously, Lin was the director of the NIST Material Measurement Laboratory, where he led some 900 staff and visiting scientists who researched the composition, structure, and properties of industrial, biological, and environmental materials and processes; and developing and disseminating certified reference materials, critically evaluated data, and other measurement quality assurance programs. Lin has also served as acting associate director for laboratory programs at NIST. In this role, he provided direction and operational guidance to NIST’s science and engineering laboratories, among other tasks. Lin first joined NIST as a National Research Council-NIST postdoctoral fellow. As leader of the Electronics Group, he established research programs in the processing of semiconductor electronics, nanoscale materials and organic electronics. In 2012, Lin became head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Lin’s work has supported key technology areas, including advanced manufacturing and advanced electronics, as well as the multi-agency Materials Genome Initiative. Lin holds a PhD and a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Stanford University. He has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University.

Neil Alderoty, Executive Officer for CHIPS Research and Development

Neil Alderoty joins CHIPS R&D as an executive officer, overseeing all aspects of operations and finance. Alderoty most recently served as the executive director of the NIST Material Measurement Laboratory, where he led all operations, including security, IT, space, personnel, property and finance, and contributed to the organization’s strategy. He has served NIST for more than 30 years in a variety of roles, including as acting chief financial officer and acting head of the Grants and Agreements Management Division. Among his many accomplishments, Alderoty has overseen the development of several software tools that provide NIST’s many divisions and groups with more accurate, timely financial information with less administrative burden, and a hazard assessment tool that contributes to improved laboratory safety. In addition, Alderoty led NIST’s implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which allocated $610 million for laboratory and standards-related research, property maintenance and renovation, and more. He has been recognized with many awards, including a NIST Bronze and a Silver Medal from the Department of Commerce, for his work on a team that obtained an unqualified opinion on an audit of NIST financial statements, a first among government agencies. Alderoty holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from State University College at Fredonia, New York.

Richard-Duane Chambers, Deputy Director of Integration and Policy

Richard-Duane Chambers joins CHIPS R&D as associate director for integration and policy, overseeing policy and strategy coordination, personnel, inter-agency integration, international relations and standards. Chambers joins CHIPS from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, where he served as a senior professional staff member and led the subcommittee on space and science. He advised the committee on decision making and policy relevant to multiple agencies, including NIST, the National Science Foundation and NASA. Chambers also contributed analysis of semiconductor technology and manufacturing trends to garner support for the CHIPS and the Science Act, which he helped draft and negotiate. Chambers previously served as the Special Assistant to the Director and Chief of Staff of the Electronics Resurgence Initiative at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Prior to that, Chambers was a lead associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he was chief of staff of the DARPA Microsystems Technology Office. He was a Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a master’s degree in technology and policy and a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics and aeronautics. space travel.

Marla Dowell, director of the CHIPS Research and Development Metrology Program

Marla Dowell joins CHIPS R&D as Director of the Metrology Program, where she will expand and advance NIST’s efforts to provide a robust measurement science foundation for the semiconductor industry. Most recently, she served as director of the NIST Communications Technology Laboratory, the leading national laboratory for advanced communications standards and measurements. Dowell began her NIST career as a researcher in the field of optical metrology for photolithography. Her work has enabled better optical measurements for photodynamic therapy for cancer treatment, laser safety, communications and manufacturing. Her work fostering collaborations with both private and public partners and leading high-performing research organizations has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Silver Medal from the Department of Commerce, the Allen V. Astin Award from NIST, and the Arthur S. Flemming Award from George Washington. University. Dowell has represented NIST on national and international standards committees for optics and photonics, as well as external advisory committees for research innovation, photonics and communications. Dowell has a Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her bachelor’s degree in physics is from the University of Michigan.

The CHIPS R&D office collaborates with nationally recognized experts and achieves important milestones at the same time. The agency recently released the following:

A publication is expected later this summer describing the vision for the National Program for Advanced Packaging Manufacturing. Additional leadership announcements are expected in June.