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February 2015 • SMT Magazine 17 Grand Challenges in Technology — Path Forward Advanced materials that offer unique prop- erties, be it a polymer, a metal or a ceramic, to deliver revolutionary performance, will be one grand technological challenge. A class of new materials using layer-by-layer assembly as a ver- satile bottom-up nanofabrication technique is being pursed. Resorting to tuning the materials at the atomic scale in conjunction with multi- scale modeling enables the design of the target materials properties, opening breakthrough and rewarding application and business oppor- tunities. Advanced manufacturing including 3D printing cannot go unnoticed. In 2015, further technology development will materialize. And increasing number of products/components/ parts manufactured by using 3D printing will be rolling out across industries. In last year's "Outlook" column, I stated five words that cover the essence of electronics hardware: smart; mobility; connectivity; wear- ability; and innovation. Wearability is one of the main thrusts with- in electronics and beyond. The fruits of the col- laboration between Google and Intel, to thrust themselves into wearable devices (e.g., Google Glass), will materialize in 2015 as it offers cooler products to consumers as well as to businesses, propelling from mobility to wearable mobility. The level of coolness has a lot to do with the extent of wearability (e.g., the wearable time before recharging the battery). The ability to synchronize the battery technology with the semiconductor technology will be another re- warding path forward. IBM pledged to spend $3 billion over five years on semiconductor research toward two major tasks: tackling technical obstacles to the miniaturization of circuitry on conventional sil- icon chips, and developing alternative materi- als and technology to keep boosting computing speed while consuming less energy, e.g., replac- ing silicon with graphene (a thin film of pure carbon or structure called nanotubes). Other research includes neurosynaptic computing— a departure from the conventional computer designs that is expected to work more like a human brain. The Internet of Things (IoT) will dictate the innovation and growth of the cool gadgets, and striking new products are expected to be intro- duced. SMT references 1. International Monetary Fund. 2. The Wall Street Journal, December 22, 2014. 3. "Cybersecurity—From Factory Floor to Boardroom," July 2013. appearances Dr. Hwang will present a lecture on "Pre- venting Manufacturing Defects and Product Failures" at IPC APEX EXPO, February 22, 2015 in San Diego, CA. Dr. Hwang, an international businesswoman and speaker, and business and technology advisor, is a pioneer and long- standing contributor to SMT manufacturing since its incep- tion, as well as to the lead-free electronics implementation. among her many awards and honors, she is inducted to the WiT international Hall of Fame, elected to the national academy of engineering, and named an r&D-Stars-to-Watch. Having held senior executive positions with lockheed Martin Corp., Sherwin Williams Co., SCM Corp, and ieM corp., she is currently ceo of H-Technol- ogies Group, providing business, technology and manufacturing solutions. She serves as chairman of assessment board of DoD army research laboratory, commerce Department's export council, various national panels/com- mittees, international leadership positions, and the board of Fortune 500 nYSe compa- nies and civic and university boards. She is the author of 450+ publications and several textbooks, and an international speaker and author on trade, business, education, and so- cial issues. Her formal education includes four academic degrees as well as Harvard business School executive program and Columbia uni- versity corporate Governance program. For further info, visit JennieHwang.com. To read past columns, click here. NeW year OuTLOOK: WHaT CaN We eXPeCT IN 2015? continues smt prospeCts & perspeCtives