This event is sponsored by the local chapter of SME (Silicon Valley Chapter 98).

At this event industry leaders will share their prospective on “what’s next” in three diverse areas:  Technology, Manufacturing and the Economy.  For manufacturing and technology companies, future business success will depend on understanding the discreet and interdependent business trends in each of these three areas.   Details of this unique seminar follow.

The next direction in technology will be addressed by Dr. Will Grossman, the Chief Technology Officer of JDS Uniphase, a leading provider of optical products and test and measurement solutions for the communications industry. 

The next direction in manufacturing will be addressed by Ms. Barbara Roberts, one of the leaders of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and CEO of one of a very few Bay Area manufacturers attracting production work returning from Asia.

The next direction in the economy will be addressed by Dr. Robert Fry, Corporate Economist for DuPont, a producer of a wide range of innovative products and services.  Mr. Fry is said to be among the nation’s top economic forecasters.

Next Direction:  Technology  

"Lasers: Magic, Wavelengths and Pulsewidths"

Lasers can do big jobs like cutting metal or microscopic jobs such as severing links in microcircuits.  Different lasers emit light of different wavelengths and in the case of switched lasers they emit different pulsewidths.  Some wavelengths and pulsewidths work magnificently in applications experiments, but never have attained broad commercial success.  Others have the magic of success.  For example, pulsed lasers have widespread applications such as marking, micromachining of electronic materials, or trimming and drilling photovoltaic materials. This talk will cover what makes a laser a success in applications, how selected wavelengths and pulsewidths came into use, and where we may find the next magic wavelengths and pulsewidths.

Dr. Will Grossman, JDS Uniphase

Dr. Will Grossman is the Chief Technical Officer for Lasers at the JDS Uniphase Corporation (JDSU).  Formerly Will was Director of Laser Research and Development at JDSU.  JDSU designs, markets, and produces a range of lasers for such applications as precision micromachining and for biochemical analysis. Will came to JDSU when JDSU acquired Lightwave Electronics Corporation in 2005.   At Lightwave Will developed infrared and ultraviolet lasers.  Semiconductor manufacturers have used these lasers in making the majority of the world’s semiconductor memory chips.  Prior to joining JDSU and Lightwave, Will was a Member of the Technical Staff at the Hewlett Packard Labs in Palo Alto where he developed laser processing techniques for semiconductor applications.  Will earned and his B.S. (Magna Cum Laude) from Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland Ohio) and his Ph.D. from Caltech (Pasadena, CA) in 1979 in Applied Physics.

Next Direction:  Manufacturing

“On-shoring”….because the lowest price is not always the lowest cost

Many Bay Area companies have been purchasing components off-shore for more than five years primarily because the price is very attractive.  Senior management has had time now to analyze the consequences of this decision on their bottom line.   The results were surprising for many companies, who now must shift the direction of their organizations from off-shoring to on-shoring.  The seminar will present the realities of off-shoring, and the hidden costs that should be considered.

Ms. Barbara Roberts ~ WRIGHT ENGINEERED PLASTICS

Ms. Roberts is President and CEO of Wright Engineered Plastics, supplier of custom plastic components and assemblies to leading OEMs such as Abbott Labs, Agilent Technologies, and Parker Hannifin.  Recently Ms. Roberts was featured as an industry authority in these articles on the subject of bringing manufacturing back to the USA from China.

SF Chronicle:  Overseas manufacturers losing price advantage  April 26, 2009

North Bay Business Journal:  Marin firm moves manufacturing back to U.S.  May 4, 2009

SF Business Times:  Some manufacturers find California cheaper than China  July 24, 2009

Business Week:  A Grand Goal for More U.S. Manufacturing Jobs  August 31, 2009

Ms. Roberts is also Treasurer of Engineers without Borders, past President of the Silicon Valley Engineering Council, past President of the Society of Plastic Engineers, and past Chair of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.  She has produced more than 20 educational seminars on numerous topics, including plastic design.

Next Direction:  The Economy

This entertaining and enlightening presentation by one of the nation's top forecasters will reveal the outlook for the US and world economy in a logical and clear manner.  It is designed for participants who want to better understand the past year’s economic roller-coaster ride and what is on the horizon for the coming year.

Dr. Robert Fry of DuPont

Dr. Fry and his colleague, Corporate Economist Robert Shrouds, have been named among the top forecasters by The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Bloomberg.  In November 2005, they won the prestigious Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Forecast Accuracy, making DuPont the only three-time winner of this award.

Dr. Fry began his DuPont career with Conoco in 1984, moved to the DuPont economist's office in 1987, and was a fixed income analyst for DuPont's pension fund in 1993 and 1994. In his current role, Robert analyzes and forecasts the global economy and its impact on DuPont, and is the author of Current Business Developments, a monthly newsletter.  Robert holds a bachelor's degree from Ohio University and a master's and Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Robert is a member of the Boards of Directors of the National Association for Business Economics and the Charter School of Wilmington, ranked among the 100 best public high schools in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.