Bob Akins to Preside Over SEMI Board

At SEMICON West 2008, Cymer announced that Bob Akins, Cymer’s co-founder and chief executive officer, has been elected chairman of the SEMI International Board of Directors. Vice chairman of the board in 2007, Akins succeeds Jerry Coder, president emeritus of the IC Fab Materials Business Unit of Dupont Electronic Technologies, who served as the board’s chairman for the past year. Atkins will officially assume his new role on July 16, during the yearly SEMI membership meeting at SEMICON West 2008. Akins currently serves as chairman and CEO of Cymer and has held these positions since co-founding the company in 1986. In addition to SEMI, he currently serves on the corporate board for KLA-Tencor, and is on the board of directors for the University of California, San Diego Foundation. Akins is also a member of the Council of Advisors to the Irwin and Joan Jacobs School of Engineering at UCSD. Alongside his fellow Cymer co-founder Rick Sandstrom, Akins has received such recognitions as the SEMI North America Award for contributions to the field of deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography, the Outstanding Alumnus Award for UCSD, and the 2007 William W. Otterson Award. Akins received his bachelor’s degree in physics and literature, and a doctorate in applied physics from UCSD.