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2001 Summary Report by Symposium Chair Andre DaCosta: On Thursday, April 26, the Northern California Section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (NorCal AIChE) held the 39th Annual One-Day symposium at SRI in Menlo Park. This year's symposium theme was: Semiconductors, New Frontier of Chemical Engineering Engineers and Scientists from CA, AZ, NV and DE and students from local universities all eager to learn about the latest advances in semiconductors and about opportunities for Chemical Engineers to help resolve outstanding challenges. Many attendees were on-site early to get the networking going and to spend more time at the equipment and services exhibition in the lobby. Participating vendors were: Sunnyvale Valve & Fitting Co. The symposium had an exciting program with 7 excellent presentations. The keynote speaker was Dr. Louis Glasgow, Global Technology Director at DuPont Fluoroproducts. His speech was the highlight of the event. Dr. Glasgow gave a vibrant and extraordinary overview of the development of fluorochemicals and fluoropolymers at DuPont and their use in the semiconductor industry. Furthermore, he elucidated the audience on the significance of fluorochemicals and fluoropolymers and inspired students, researchers and engineers to embrace the materials science field with the assurance of developing a rewarding career. Dr. Romek Nowak, General Manager, Applied Global University at Applied opened the symposium. Romek gave a formidable overview of the semiconductor industry and set the tone for the technical presentations given throughout the day. Romek talked about the significance of the semiconductor industry to our daily lives, the driving force behind the unprecedented development and expansion, the challenges and the need for a skilled and technically competent work force to address them. Romek made clear the role played by chemical engineers in the semiconductor industry and made a passionate call for chemical engineers to dedicate their professional careers to the development of new technologies, products and equipment for semiconductor manufacturing. Abid Merchant, R&D Manager for DuPont Fluoroproducts, discussed the development and properties of new environmentally friendly hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) formulations as replacements for ozone depleting and global warming clening solvents. He also discussed the role of fluid dynamics and other strategies to improve particulate removal and reduce capital investment. Dr. Ashok Das, Manager, Computer Modeling and Simulation at Applied Materials presented a paper on their approach to address challenges in the simulation of transport phenomena, chemistry, plasma physics and electromagnetics. Ashok was able to convey complex concepts in very simple terms, keeping the audience with him all along. He also discussed the role of modeling on the optimization of chamber geometry and semiconductor manufacturing processes and noted that a multi-disciplinary effort, including chemical engineering is required to resolve outstanding challenges. Henry Chang, Senior Account Representative at 3M’s Performance Materials Division gave a presentation on the development of novel materials at 3M to replace high global warming potential (GWP) materials. The new materials include highly-fluorinated gases, hydrofluoroethers (HFEs) and fluorosurfactants used in plasma etch, solvent etch, heat transfer, refrigeration, cleaning, drying, additives and coatings. Henry also talked about the development of techniques to monitor and eliminate emissions of ozone depleting substances. Dr. Erik Edelberg, a specialist for the Simulations and Analysis group of Lam Research gave a presentation on advancements and importance of surface diagnostics in the silicon etch process and product quality. Erik was able to convey to the audience in simplistic terms complex concepts, such as plasma and noted that chemical engineers have an ideal background to understand and help resolve challenges encountered in the etch process. At the luncheon, AIChE Awards for Outstanding Senior College students and for Professional Excellence were presented. This year, the winners were: Chemical Engineering Excellence Awards
Outstanding Seniors in Chemical Engineering
Ray Mugele Award
The symposium was sponsored by: Applied Materials, Alza Corporation, Genentech and Clorox.
NorCal AIChE Symposium 2001 was a tremendous success! Thank you all for participating.
Dr. Andre Da Costa |
