Speaker Biography - Morning Session
Prof Aaron Thean is the GlobalFoundries Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He is also the Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost at NUS. In
addition to his administrative duties, he is also the Director of SHINE research centre on Next-Generation
Hybrid Electronics, where the Heterogeneous Integration process and design are investigated to enable
new system innovation by chip packaging and other additive processing.
Prior to NUS, Aaron Thean was the Vice President of Logic Technologies at IMEC, where he directed the
research and development of next-generation semiconductor technologies and emerging nano-device
architectures. Prior to joining IMEC in 2011, he worked at Qualcomm’s CDMA Technologies in San Diego,
California. Aaron and his group worked on Qualcomm’s 20nm and 16nm mobile System-On-Chip
technologies. From 2007 to 2009, Aaron was with IBM, where he developed the 28-nm and 32-nm lowpower bulk CMOS technologies at IBM’s East Fishkill, New York, facility.
Aaron graduated from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, USA, where he received his B.Sc. (Highest Honours), M.Sc., and PhD. degrees in Electrical Engineering (Edmund J. James Scholar). Recognised by Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF) as an NRF Returning Singaporean Scientist, he returned to Singapore to pursue his career as an academic in 2016. He has co-authored over 300 technical papers in the areas of advanced microelectronics and holds more than 50 US patents. He is also a Fellow of the US Academy of Inventors.
Prof Yee-Chia Yeo is the Deputy Chief Executive of the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, where he leads Innovation & Enterprise efforts, as well as semiconductor research and development. He heads Singapore’s RIE2030 Flagship in Semiconductors. He is also a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
His expertise is in transistor architecture, device modelling and simulation, materials, tools, and processing technologies. He spent 10 years at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). He was Director of Research and Development (R&D) at TSMC, where he led organisations spanning research, pathfinding, and development. He co-developed TSMC’s industry-leading 7 nm, 5 nm, and 3 nm technologies, which have impacted the world in areas such as high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics.
He has co-authored more than 700 papers and 400 US patents. He has graduated more than 40 Ph.D. students at NUS.
He received his PhD and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley, and MEng and BEng degrees in Electrical Engineering from NUS. He completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, Harvard University.
Mr Chia Shang Rong is a Manager at the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), the lead government agency responsible for Singapore’s manufacturing sector.
Shang Rong is part of the Semiconductors Division, which works closely with international companies in the semiconductor industry to facilitate their investments in Singapore, transform their operations here, and support their success in Asia through Singapore.
He received an MSc in International and Development Economics from Yale University in 2022 and a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics in 2021.
Dr Serge Biesemans received his Ph.D. from IMEC in 1998, specializing in the scaling of CMOS devices. He subsequently joined IBM Microelectronics in East Fishkill, New York, where he worked on 0.13 µm technology development. In 2003, he returned to IMEC, where he has led research on advanced device architectures, including FinFET, strain engineering, high-k/metal gate (HKMG), nanosheet, and complementary FET (CFET) technologies.
Mr Fabio Pellizzer received an M.S. in Electronic Engineering from the University of Padova, Italy, with a thesis on the characterization and reliability of thin gate oxides.
After working on Phase-Change Memory, 3DXPoint and SXM technologies, he is currently a Micron Fellow, responsible for Advanced Cell Development and coordinating a team based in Boise, Idaho, USA, and Vimercate, Italy.
Mr Pellizzer has authored more than 290 US patents and over 70 publications in international journals, as well as two book chapters. He has also delivered several invited talks at international conferences, including MRS, NVMTS, EPCOS, MAM, ICICDT, SEMI, NANO and IEDM.
Dr Ashok Muthukumaran is a semiconductor technology leader with over 20 years of experience driving advanced process and integration innovation across the U.S. and Singapore. He earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Arizona and began his career at Intel Corporation (USA), where he led CMP development from the 65nm to 14nm technology nodes. He later served as Technology Development Director for 3D NAND at Micron Technology (Singapore), where he delivered an unprecedented “3-peat” in technology leadership, enabling the industry’s first Gen 7, Gen 8, and Gen 9 nodes.
Dr Ashok is currently Senior Director of Advanced Packaging and Head of Integration at Applied Materials (Singapore), where he leads next-generation heterogeneous integration and drives strategic customer technology enablement for AI and high-performance computing applications. He is a recognised thought leader and invited speaker at major industry forums.
He has authored over 100 publications and patents and received multiple industry recognitions, including the Micron Innovation Award, Micron CEO Challenge Award, Intel Awards, NACE Award, and SRC Award.
Speaker Biography - Afternoon Session
Prof Douglas Yu is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He holds a BSc in Physics and MSc in Materials Science and Engineering from National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA.
Prof Yu spent over 30 years at TSMC, leading wafer process module pathfinding and development from 0.8 micron to 28nm, including Cu and Low-K interconnect technologies. He established TSMC’s advanced packaging and heterogeneous system integration technologies and initiated and developed TSMC 3DFabric™, including CoWoS®, InFO and SoIC™. 3DFabric™ has enabled advanced smart devices, IoT and high-performance computing, including cloud computing and AI applications, since 2016. His contributions include TSMC COUPE™, enabling Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) and innovative nanoelectronics and photonics integrated architectures.
He is an IEEE Fellow, TSMC Distinguished Fellow, NAE member and Academician of Academia Sinica, with 150+ papers and 1,500+ granted US patents.
Prof Massimo Alioto is Provost Chair’s Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore, where he leads the Green IC group, the OUTSMART Corporate Lab on edge AI, and the Integrated Circuits and Embedded Systems area. Previously, he held positions at the University of Siena, Intel Labs, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, the University of California, Berkeley, and EPFL.
He has authored more than 400 publications and five books for Springer, including the popular Enabling the Internet of Things – from Circuits to Systems (>80,000 downloads). His group’s research has been recognised with various best paper awards (e.g., ISSCC and ICECS) and by industry (e.g., as a technology highlight in the TSMC annual report).
He was the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on VLSI Systems and the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Journal on Emerging and Selected Topics in Circuits and Systems. He was the Chair of the Distinguished Lecturer Program of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society and was a Distinguished Lecturer for both the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society and the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society.
He is a member of the IEEE SSCS Administrative Committee (AdCom) and served on the Board of Governors of CASS from 2015 to 2020. He is/was Technical Program Chair for a number of top IEEE conferences and has served as Guest Editor and Associate Editor for major journals of SSCS and CASS, including JSSC. Prof. Alioto is an IEEE Fellow.
Prof Chen Xiaodong is a Distinguished University Professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, where he is a Professor in Materials Science and Engineering, with joint and courtesy appointments in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Chemistry, and Medicine. His research interests encompass mechanomaterials science and engineering, surface and interface science, flexible electronics technology, and carbon-negative technologies.
Prof Chen has been inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), earning one of the highest professional distinctions accorded to researchers in the field. His outstanding scientific contributions have been recognised with numerous awards, including the Singapore President’s Science Award, Singapore National Research Foundation (NRF) Investigatorship and NRF Fellowship, the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award, the Dan Maydan Prize in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, the Falling Walls Winner award, and the Kabiller Young Investigator award.
Prof Chen is an elected member of the Royal Society, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Singapore National Academy of Science, and the Academy of Engineering Singapore. He serves on the editorial advisory boards of numerous esteemed international journals, including Advanced Materials, Matter, Chemical Reviews, CCS Chemistry, Small, and Nanoscale Horizons. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of ACS Nano, a globally recognised leading journal in nanoscience and nanotechnology.
Prof Lim Yeow Kheng is a Professor (Practice) in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Assistant Dean (Research and Technology) at the NUS College of Design and Engineering. He is also Programme Director of the Singapore Hybrid-Integrated Next-Generation μ-Electronics (SHINE) Centre and the Master of Science in Semiconductor Technology and Operations (MSc STO), and Deputy Director of E6NanoFab General Management.
He has more than 20 years of semiconductor industry and research experience spanning foundry technology development, OSAT manufacturing, and business operations, including prior roles at Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing (now GlobalFoundries Singapore) and STATS ChipPAC (now part of JCET Group).
His research interests include advanced wafer-level packaging and heterogeneous integration, 2.5D/3D IC packaging, thermal management, co-packaged optics, failure analysis and reliability engineering, and AI/ML-enabled semiconductor technologies. He is a Senior Member of IEEE, has published extensively and filed patents, and is actively involved in major international semiconductor conferences including ECTC, EPTC, IPFA, and IRPS.
Prof Tan Chuan Seng is a Professor of Electronic Engineering at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Co-Director of the National Center for Advanced Integrated Photonics (NCAIP) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He received his PhD from MIT in 2006.
Currently, he is working on process technology for three-dimensional integrated circuits, as well as engineered substrates for Group IV photonics. He has numerous journal and conference publications and intellectual properties (IPs) on 3D technology and engineered substrates. Nine of his inventions have since been licensed to a spin-off company. He has co-edited and co-authored five books on 3D packaging technology.
He is a Fellow of IEEE (Class of 2022) and a recipient of the Exceptional Technical Achievement Award from the IEEE Electronics Packaging Society (EPS) in 2019. He was a Distinguished Lecturer with IEEE-EPS from 2019 to 2023. He has been a Fellow of the International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging Society (IMAPS) since 2019 and was a recipient of the William D. Ashman–John A. Wagnon Technical Achievement Award in 2020.
Prof Koen Mouthaan received his M.Sc. and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. His PhD research focused on the modelling of RF power transistors, supported by Philips Semiconductors (now Ampleon). He worked in the radar group at TNO Defence, Safety and Security in the Netherlands and at SkyGate, a company that designed phased-array antennas for consumer applications.
Between 2003 and 2015, he was an Assistant Professor and Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore. He rejoined the department in 2016. His research interests include microwave and millimetre-wave circuits and systems, phased-array antennas, digital beamforming, design, and innovation.
He also holds a Master of Space Engineering from TU Berlin, an MSc in Organisational Leadership from Johns Hopkins University, and an MBA from Nanyang Technological University.
Mr Ang Wee Seng leads the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association (SSIA), bringing together industry, academia, and government to strengthen collaboration, accelerate talent transformation, and advance sustainable growth, fostering a vibrant semiconductor ecosystem in Singapore and across the region.
With over 20 years of experience in the semiconductor sector, Mr Tan’s career spans fab start-ups, global procurement, engineering leadership, and fab operations. He has also held senior leadership roles, leading diverse teams across Singapore, China, Germany, and the US, delivering yield improvement, cost efficiency, technology integration, and operational excellence.
Mr Tan serves on multiple advisory committees, including Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering (SEEE), NTU’s School of Materials Science & Engineering, Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific (ITAP), and Enterprise Singapore’s Smart Manufacturing Technical Committee (SMTC) and Environment and Resources Standards Technical Committee for Energy.
He also plays an active role in supporting the community and is a District Councillor with North East CDC.
With a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical & Electronics Engineering and a Master’s degree in Management of Technology, Mr Tan brings both technical insight and strategic vision to foster industry partnerships, nurture talent, and drive innovation with lasting impact.
Dr Radha Nagarajan is currently the Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Marvell’s Optical Engineering Group. At Marvell, he manages the development of the company’s optical platform products and technology. Concurrently, he is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He received his B.Eng. from NUS, M.Eng. from the University of Tokyo, and Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, all in Electrical Engineering.
Dr Nagarajan has been elected to the US National Academy of Engineering. His other recognitions include the IEEE/LEOS Aron Kressel Award, the IPRM Award, and the Optica David Richardson Medal for his breakthrough work in the development and manufacturing of photonic integrated circuits. He has been awarded more than 250 US patents. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, Optica (Optical Society), and the IET.
Detailed Agenda
Event Location
*Venue: NUS College of Design and Engineering Campus,
Block E7 Seminar Room 3/ 4, 15 Kent Ridge Crescent, S(119276)
Driver is advised to enter via Engineering Drive 1 and park at Car Park C at Block E6
*Due to the overwhelming response, the event venue has been changed from UHall to Block E7 has been changed from UHall to E7 Building