Abstract:
After a brief introduction of all of the technologies that combined to provide almost unlimited communications (silicon integrated circuits, flat panel displays, wireless, batteries, fiber optics), the talk will focus on the development of fiber optics which increased bandwidth by eight orders of magnitude in the past forty years. We will discuss the remarkable developments including super pure glass fibers, very high-speed lasers and broadband amplifiers which made this all possible, essentially providing global broadband communications for “free”. At the end of the talk we will spend a few minutes discussing the business consequences of disruptive technologies whose impact far exceeds what was originally imagined.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Mark Melliar-Smith is the former Chief Executive Officer of Canon Nanotechnologies, an Austin based company formed as a result of the acquisition of the semiconductor division of Molecular Imprints, Inc. He served as the CEO and COO of Molecular Imprints, Inc. (2004-2014), a Venture Partner with Austin Ventures (2002-2003), the President and CEO of SEMATECH (1997 to 2001) and the Chief Technical Officer for Lucent Technologies Microelectronics from 1990 through 1996. In his forty five year career in high technology, Mark has held a wide variety of technical and management positions in R&D, manufacturing and business management, including Executive Director of the Bell Laboratories Photonics and Integrated Circuit Division, and also as the VP and General Manager of the AT&T Lightwave Business Unit. Dr. Melliar-Smith holds BS, PhD and MBA degrees, and lives with his wife, Pat, in Austin Texas.
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