EXASCIENCE - Key Persons

Ingrid De Wolf joined imec in 1989. Her initial research focus was on applying Raman spectroscopy for local mechanical stress measurements, later extending towards reliability. In 1999, she got the opportunity to start a new reliability group that initially focused on MEMS and packaging. The scope was later broadened to interconnect, 3D, and OIO reliability. Additionally, the group specialized in a variety of research areas, for example finite element modeling (FEM) and material analysis. In her profound career, she has greatly contributed to imec's growth by, among others, establishing six labs and introducing various innovative analysis tools. While she strengthened many imec research domains, she endeavored to generate an impact beyond the imec walls. As such, she has instigated deep collaborations and active interactions with research institutes, universities, and the microelectronics industry. She also spent great effort in guiding KU Leuven PhD students at imec. Expertise Mechanical stress (measurements and impact) Reliability Failure analysis Materials analysis Career highlights Listed in top 2% scientists worldwide and most cited imec author in 2022 Holds 11 patents and more than 680 publications to date (one counts over 1,200 citations) IEEE senior member Member of two FWO fellowship panels Promotor of 38 KU Leuven PhD theses, reviewer for over 25 scientific journals, juried over 40 external PhD theses

Johanna Bolander

Johanna Bolander is building her interdisciplinary team and is excited to do research that can help detecting fibrosis in an early stage, with the goal to help the industry in the development of accessible treatments.

Paul Heremans

Paul Heremans has undoubtedly made significant contributions to imec in the way of bearing fruit. Among many other career accomplishments, he has received two coveted ERC grants, and was instrumental in creating the first III-V LEDs with unprecedented efficiencies. And while he says accomplishments like these are certainly gratifying, the real success is having grown the insight needed to identify research topics and create proposals that create impact. "When you receive funding, what you get is money in advance, entrusted to you. It is an expression of trust in the fact that you have demonstrated that you know how to guide the research." Paul also considers it an achievement that he's been able to change research subjects during his career. He says that switching topics has enabled his success by allowing him to acquire a broader background, which has been critical to putting more things into perspective.

Prof. De Micheli Giovanni

Job Titles:

Professor and Director Inst. of Electrical Eng. EPFL

Prof. Plummer James

Job Titles:

Professor of Electrical Engineering - Stanford University

Dr. Rabaey Jan - Prof. emeritus and Prof in the Graduate school at Univ. of California

Tinneke Van Opstal

Job Titles:

Engineer
Process Engineer

‘Where you want to be three years from now, is not an unusual question here at imec.' Tinneke is a process engineer at imec, but started as a process operator. ‘I work with people from various generations and cultures. We challenge each other to see things differently. And that makes us better at what we do.' A person's qualities cannot always be put on paper. When Tinneke was 18 years old, she received a phone call from imec, asking if she was interested in a job. At the time, Tinneke had just graduated from high school. Imec was completely unknown to her. That did not stop her to grasp the opportunity. In 1997 she started as a process operator. Today, Tinneke is still proud to work at imec. ‘I started without a university degree, but I had a mentor to whom I could fire off all my questions. That personal approach, combined with my eagerness to learn, helped me to grow quickly.' Today Tinneke is a process engineer and no longer one of the youngsters on campus. But she stays young at heart. ‘We have PhD students working here. And because they often look at things from a different perspective, they make sure everyone stays focused. I also keep pushing myself to constantly question my own way of working.' Imec is and always has been an innovative company with a vision for the future. Not only for solutions creating positive change, but also for its people. ‘As a process operator I spent most of my time in the cleanroom executing and following up on procedures.' As a process engineer, Tinneke's job is more versatile. ‘Some of my tasks are hands-on, for example making sure all procedures in the cleanroom are going as planned. But I also have more theoretical jobs, such as working on statistical models and data analysis.' Imec strongly believes in the power of collaboration. Tinneke collaborates with people from different departments and nationalities. ‘I love to join forces with others to find solutions. As process engineer I bridge between researchers and operators.' Communication is key. Researchers, engineers and operators all need to understand each other to get the desired results. With people coming from different backgrounds, that often can be challenging. But Tinneke sees this as an advantage. ‘People with different educations and cultures often expand your view on things. You start to look at the world from a different perspective. This is both useful at work and in life in general. Imec keeps stimulating this. And that is what makes the company and the people who work here unique.'