SEMI-FlexTech Announces 2020 FLEXI Awards Winners

Recognizing innovations and other outstanding accomplishments in Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE), SEMI-FlexTech, a SEMI Strategic Association Partner, presented the 2020 FLEXI Awards at the 19th annual FLEX 2020 Conference and Exhibition in San Jose, CA.

The FLEXI Awards spotlight FHE contributions in five categories: R&D Achievement, Product Innovation and Commercialization, Technology & Education in Leadership, Technology Champion and Industry Leadership.

R&D Achievement – Epicore Biosystems won the FLEXI for its world-class research of a soft, skin-interfaced bioelectronics platform with high commercial potential. The platform leverages microfluidics to capture biochemical/biophysical markers on fatigability in heart failure patients. Award criteria include research approach, originality and commercial potential for expanding the bounds of flexible or printed electronics.

“We are honored to receive this prestigious award for our multifunctional wearable systems and privileged to be an active member in this growing community of flexible hybrid electronics researchers and industry partners,” said Roozbeh Ghaffari, CEO and co-founder of Epicore Biosystems.

Product Innovation– PragmatIC won the FLEXI for product design and ingenuity in developing its ConnectIC family. The award recognizes an FHE product, announced over the past year, with significant potential or proven market adoption and revenue generation.

“PragmatIC is delighted that our ConnectIC flexible integrated circuits have won the FLEXI,” said Scott White, CEO at PragmatIC. “By bringing intelligence and connectivity to trillions of everyday objects, we see these products playing a pivotal role in improving our environment and daily lives.”

Technology Champion & Leadership in Education– NextFlex received the FLEXI for FlexPro, a program that immerses working professionals into the development, manufacturability, and applications that can benefit from FHE technology.

“NextFlex is extremely pleased to receive this prestigious recognition for FlexPro, our professional development education program,” said Emily McGrath, director of Workforce Development Programs at NextFlex. “This program is central to our strategy of proliferating knowledge about flexible hybrid electronics throughout the advanced manufacturing sector in the U.S. Through our workforce development programs, we raise awareness of the benefits of FHE – thin, flexible, lightweight and fast to market – while improving collaboration throughout the manufacturing ecosystem, resulting in broader adoption and commercialization.”

Technology Champion – Dr. Meyya Meyyappan, chief scientist for Exploration Technology at the Center for Nanotechnology, NASA Ames Research Center, won the FLEXI for his technical leadership in printed and flexible electronics, outreach activities and tireless volunteering to promote the field.

“Applications for flexible and hybrid electronics have been picking up in every sector rapidly, and we can look forward to interesting developments in the near future,” said Dr. Meyyappan.

Industry Leadership– FlexTech Chairman Dr. Michael McCreary won a FLEXI for his dedication and involvement in the commercialization of FHE, unwavering efforts to forge an industry vision, and contributions to technical developments.

“I am honored to receive this award and privileged to have worked with the SEMI FlexTech leadership and its member companies on emerging flexible and printed electronics technology for almost two decades, including forming the alliances that gave rise to the current FlexTech organization,” Dr. McCreary said. “I am gratified to see technology in the marketplace today that FlexTech enabled with R&D funding during its critical formative years. I look forward to seeing more collaborations and successes well into the future.“