Yoshio Nishi, chief scientist at Texas Instruments, to head Nanofabrication Facility

Yoshio Nishi, chief scientist of Texas Instruments Inc. (TI), has accepted the directorship of the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility. He also has been awarded a research professorship in the Department of Electrical Engineering. His appointment is effective May 1. Nishi is senior vice president and director of silicon technology development at TI and has been a consulting professor at Stanford since 1986.

"Stanford's School of Engineering is delighted to welcome Yoshio Nishi to its faculty," said James D. Plummer, the Frederick Emmons Terman Dean of the School of Engineering and the John M. Fluke Professor of Electrical Engineering. "Nishi is a well-respected researcher who brings a depth of industrial experience. He has an international reputation in fundamental and practical contributions to the advancement of silicon devices and technology."

The nanofabrication facility that Nishi will direct serves academic, industrial and governmental researchers. Work focuses on optics, microelectromechanical systems, biology and chemistry, as well as traditional electronics device fabrication and process characterization. Located on campus in the Center for Integrated Systems, it is supported by the National Science Foundation.

In a separate announcement this week, TI said Nishi will continue his efforts as the company's chief scientist as his successor, Hans Stork, transitions into the role. Nishi is keeping a 25 percent appointment at the company while assuming his Stanford professorship.

"Since joining TI in 1995, Yoshio has led a transformation of the R&D function to an effective and well aligned organization providing substantial competitive technical advantage to our digital signal processor and analog businesses," said Rich Templeton, TI's chief operating officer and executive vice president. "His continued efforts as TI's chief scientist and director of Stanford's Nanofabrication Facility will help maintain TI's position at the forefront of semiconductor process technology."

Said Plummer: "Texas Instruments has always been a valued partner of the School of Engineering, and Nishi's appointment will be a strong bridge between the two organizations." The company has headquarters in Dallas and manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than 25 countries.

Nishi holds a bachelor's degree in metallurgy from Waseda University in Japan and a doctorate in electronics engineering from the University of Tokyo. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the 1995 IEEE Jack Morton Award winner and the 2002 Robert Noyce Medal recipient.