2020 FLEXI Awards celebrate flexible hybrid electronics

Recognising innovations and other outstanding accomplishments in flexible hybrid electronics (FHE), SEMI-FlexTech recently presented the 2020 FLEXI Awards at the 19th annual FLEX 2020 Conference and Exhibition in San Jose, California. The FLEXI Awards spotlight FHE contributions in five categories, listed below.

R&D Achievement

Epicore Biosystems won the FLEXI for its research into a soft, skin-interfaced bioelectronics platform with high commercial potential. The platform leverages microfluidics to capture biochemical/biophysical markers on fatigability in heart failure patients. Award criteria include research approach, originality and commercial potential for expanding the bounds of flexible or printed electronics.

Product Innovation and Commercialization

PragmatIC won the FLEXI for product design and ingenuity in developing its ConnectIC flexible integrated circuits, designed to bring intelligence and connectivity to trillions of everyday objects. The award recognises an FHE product, announced over the past year, with significant potential or proven market adoption and revenue generation.

Technology Champion & Leadership in Education

NextFlex received the FLEXI for FlexPro, a program that immerses working professionals in the development, manufacturability and applications that can benefit from FHE technology. The program is central to NextFlex’s strategy of proliferating knowledge about flexible hybrid electronics throughout the advanced manufacturing sector in the US.

Technology Champion

Dr Meyya Meyyappan, Chief Scientist for Exploration Technology at the Center for Nanotechnology, NASA Ames Research Center, won the FLEXI for his technical leadership in printed and flexible electronics, outreach activities and tireless volunteering to promote the field. Dr Meyyappan said applications for flexible and hybrid electronics have been picking up in every sector rapidly, and interesting developments are expected in the near future.

Industry Leadership

FlexTech Chairman Dr Michael McCreary won a FLEXI for his dedication and involvement in the commercialisation of FHE, unwavering efforts to forge an industry vision and contributions to technical developments. Dr McCreary said he was privileged to have worked with the SEMI FlexTech leadership and its member companies on emerging flexible and printed electronics technology for almost two decades, including forming the alliances that gave rise to the current FlexTech organisation.

The FLEXI Awards are sponsored by SEMI-FlexTech, an organisation dedicated to the success of the FHE sector. The awards have been running since 1999; the full list of past winners can be found here.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Jakub Jirsák

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