The battle for technological supremacy has in recent years taken centre stage as national governments look at geo-political dependencies that have created a desire to take control of the semiconductor technologies that are the fundamental building blocks that underpin so many aspects our everyday lives. Recent semiconductor shortages have brought a sharp focus to the need for significant strategic funding interventions in semiconductors bygovernments world-wide. Against the backdrop of the US CHIPS Act and the EU Chip Act, this session will look at the evolution of the CSconnected compound semiconductor cluster and the role of government strategy in creating and maintaining a landscape for encouraging the building of a thriving eco-system.
Chris' career in electronics and semiconductors started at British Telecom Research Laboratories before joining a new joint venture between BT and US based DuPont in 1986. Chris was part of the founding team at Epitaxial Products International Ltd (EPI) in Cardiff in 1988 which became IQE plc following a successful IPO in 1999. He is Director of CSconnected that represents the world’s first compound semiconductor community that is rapidly evolving across South Wales and the UK.