LEUVEN MINDGATE

Gilbert J. Declerck to Receive 2008 IEEE Frederik Philips Award


vGILBERT J. DECLERCK, CO-FOUNDER OF WORLD'S MOST ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR RESEARCH CENTER, TO RECEIVE 2008 IEEE FREDERIK PHILIPS AWARD

Helped Build and Manage Worldwide Research and Development Alliances in Emerging Fields, Including Nanotechnology

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (1 December 2008) - Gilbert J. Declerck has been named the recipient of the IEEE Frederik Philips Award for scientific and technical leadership and visionary management of the Interuniversity Microelectronics Center (IMEC) - the largest independent semiconductor research center in the world. Under his guidance, IMEC has created a unique alliance of the top class of integrated device manufacturers, foundries, system houses, fables and fab-lite companies and researchers, helping to foster innovation and commercial breakthroughs. The IEEE is the world's leading professional association for the advancement of technology.

The IEEE Frederik Philips Award, sponsored by Philips Electronics NV, recognizes Declerck for his leadership in the creation of International R&D alliances in semiconductor technologies. The award will be presented to Declerck on 16 December 2008 at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

In 1984,. Declerck was part of the team that founded IMEC. As vice president of the Advanced Semiconductor Processing Division, his accomplishments included developing a Center of Excellence in process and device development and establishing numerous interactions and cooperation with representatives of both the academic and industrial worlds. In 1999, Declerck became CEO, following the death of co-founder Roger Van Overstraeten. A visionary research leader and entrepreneur, Declerck realized that the dramatically rising R&D cost as a result of advancements in semiconductor technology could be curbed by international cooperation and cost-sharing among all the industry players.

Declerck has continued to expand IMEC's R&D capabilities into cutting edge transistor scaling beyond the 32nm node. Today IMEC is recognized as one of the leading research institutes worldwide running several industrial affiliation programs with global participation in the fields of semiconductor technology, system-on-chip design, heterogeneous integration and advanced packaging technologies. In 2007, more than 80 percent of IMEC's annual budget of 240million euros was based on industrial partnerships and more than 30 percent of its 1,600-person workforce consists of researchers visiting from industry or from academia.

Prior to taking on the role of president and CEO, Declerck served in various capacities at IMEC, including chief operations officer. Before founding IMEC in 1984, he was a research professor and lecturer at the University of Leuven, Belgium. Declerck also worked with the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research and as a research assistant at Stanford University, California.

An IEEE Fellow, Declerck received a bachelor's and master's degree in electrical engineering, a doctorate in applied sciences and a special doctorate in teaching from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. During his career, he has authored or co-authored more than 200 papers and conference contributions.

About IEEE

The IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society. Through its more than 375,000 members in 160 countries, the organization is a leading authority on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Dedicated to the advancement of technology, the IEEE publishes 30 percent of the world's literature in the electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields, and has developed nearly 900 active industry standards. The organization annually sponsors more than 850 conferences worldwide. Additional information about the IEEE can be found at http://www.ieee.org.

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