Texas Instruments veteran Buss to lead discussion on future of electronics

Dennis Buss of Texas Instruments will present a seminar on Tuesday (Oct. 1) on the future of electronics beyond Moore's Law in what he foresees as "an era of accelerated technology innovation."

The seminar, “Microelectronics in Transition” will be at 10:30 a.m. Stewart Center's Fowler Hall, and it is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by NEEDS, the Nano-Engineered Electronic Device Simulation Node, a Purdue-led initiative supported by the National Science Foundation and the Semiconductor Research Corporation. A panel discussion will follow a talk by Buss.

It is widely believed that Moore's Law -- which observes that the number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles about every two years, increasing computing power -- is nearing its practical limit. Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) will have to be complemented with innovative new technologies to maintain progress in electronics.

“In the decades following the end of CMOS scaling, technology development will be much less predictable,” Buss says. “But this unpredictability will provide opportunities for creative technology innovators to make disruptive innovations in technology. I predict that we will enter an era of accelerated technology innovation.”

Buss began work at Texas Instruments in 1969 and rose through technology development positions. In 2007, he became TI chief scientist and visiting scientist at MIT with responsibility for managing TI-MIT joint research. He retired in 2010 but serves as a consultant to TI.

He received his BS, MS and PhD in electrical engineering from MIT and served twice on the MIT faculty. He is an IEEE Fellow and the recipient of the 1985 Herschel Award and the 1987 Jack A. Morton Award. He was selected by the Electron Devices Society to receive the IEEE Third Millennium Medal.

Mark Lundstrom, the Don and Carol Scifres Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and lead investigator of NEEDS, says, “Electronics is changing, and leading universities like Purdue must lead the way. Dr. Buss’s seminar and the forum that follows will help chart the path forward.”

The panel will be moderated by Tim Fisher, the James G. Dwyer Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Panelists are to be professors M.A. Alam, Supriyo Datta, Joerg Appenzeller, Gerhard Klimeck, and Mark Lundstrom.

The seminar is co-sponsored by the IEEE Electron Devices Student Chapter at Purdue. IEEE, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, is the world's largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation for the benefit of humanity.