Industry Well Represented on New U.S. Government Advisory Committee on Microelectronics

Two of the electronics industry’s most far-sighted and innovative leaders have been named to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s new Industrial Advisory Committee (IAC), which will provide guidance to the Secretary of Commerce on a range of issues related to CHIPS for America Act programs.  

Meredith LaBeau, the Chief Technology Officer at Calumet Electronics in Calumet, Michigan, and Carol Handwerker, the Reinhardt Schuhmann, Jr. Professor of Materials Engineering and Professor of Environmental and Ecological Engineering at Purdue University, are among the first batch of nominees to be named. Both Handwerker and LaBeau have participated in IPC’s Thought Leaders Program, standards development and other IPC activities. They were chosen for their expertise in semiconductor fabrication and advanced packaging.

IPC and the U.S. Partnership for Assured Electronics (USPAE) jointly nominated the pair, and electronics manufacturing is well represented on the panel in other ways. Several other panel members are associated with IPC member companies Analog Devices, Microsoft, and Intel.  

The IAC, established by Congress under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, will provide federal officials with advice on the science and technology needs of the nation’s domestic microelectronics industry; the research and development programs funded through the CHIPS for America Act, including an advanced packaging program that IPC has advocated for; and opportunities for new public-private partnerships.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve on this committee and share my thoughts on the future R&D of semiconductor advanced packaging,” said LaBeau. “With passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, the U.S. has an opportunity to both fabricate and package the most cutting-edge silicon chips and electronic systems in the world, and I’m thrilled to be a part of that effort.”

“Congratulations to Carol, Meredith, and the others appointed to the committee,” said Chris Peters, executive director of USPAE. “They will provide the government with invaluable advice and industry insights on the nation's electronics manufacturing ecosystem.”

IPC President and CEO John Mitchell said, “IPC congratulates all our friends and colleagues on their appointment to the Industrial Advisory Committee. This is great news for the U.S. electronics manufacturing industry because they know, like we do, that America’s economic security and national security depend not just on silicon fabrication but on advanced packaging and the broader ecosystem that sustains innovative, resilient, and secure electronics manufacturing.”