One of the most successful US government-funded development programmes has been the Very High Speed Integrated Circuitry project dedicated to developing new VLSI circuits for military applications. Honeywell, IBM and Texas Instruments have all achieved great things under the programme, so what better man to head the proposed Sematech semiconductor technology co-operative than the one who master-minded the VHSIC programme? Larry Sumney created, developed, and, most important of all, secured Congressional and Department of Defense support for the VHSIC programme, which is described as the largest technology program ever undertaken by the Department of Defense. He also served as the programme’s first director. He has now been appointed managing director of Sematech until a permanent chief executive officer is chosen. Sumney, 46, is president of the Semiconductor Research Corp of Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and will combine the two roles. At Sematech, Sumney will co-ordinate start-up operations and negotiations with government officials during the early stages of the project. A permanent chief executive and management team should be in place by autumn.
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