Title:
Division Operations Director, Sarnoff Imaging Systems
What is your focus at Sarnoff?
I’m responsible for coordination and oversight of program and product management functions, on time and on budget delivery of projects, developing and implementing monitoring methods, assessing and reporting program staffing requirements based on backlog and pursued business, and coordination of facility requirements for the division.
Describe a typical day for you at Sarnoff.
Typical activities – Respond to client e-mails for updates on pending issues. Attend reviews of on-going projects, especially those with Japanese clients. Travel to Japan for client meetings approximately every six weeks. Review the status of all deliverable items that the division is responsible. Coordinate planning of labor hours and the distribution of work to appropriate staff. Work with division General Mangers to track the state of the business. Occasionally teach courses in Program Management, Microsoft Project and Excel.
What experience did you have prior to joining Sarnoff?
I started working for RCA in 1959 as a chemist. During the period 1959 to 1967 I developed many manufacturing methods for silicon that are still in use by the industry. From 1967 to1971, I worked with a startup company called Laser Diode Laboratories, eventually taking on the job of Executive Vice President in charge of all day-to-day operations. I came to RCA Laboratories in 1971 to work on advanced silicon technology.
What is your background in academics?
I have a Master’s degree in Physical Chemistry.
Why did you choose Sarnoff?
Just never left RCA Laboratories—it changed into Sarnoff. I would need several more pages to describe all of the interesting assignments I have had since 1971. I headed RCA’s IC Center here in Princeton, developing three generations of CMOS devices. I used to travel regularly to RCA’s laboratory in Zurich to review their work and provide technology direction. My group also designed and built the first chips that could remember channel-tuning information enabling remote control to work. I designed an automated IC factory as part of a joint venture between RCA and Sharp. I led a $32 million Sarnoff project to develop a virtual reality gaming system for Hasbro toys. I led Sarnoff’s first multi-million project, called Pilot, to develop laser diode arrays. As part of that effort I established the standards for Program Management at Sarnoff. I was the program manager for a five-company joint effort that led to the development of HDTV (Chapter 12 of Dr. Curt Carlson’s book, Innovation: The Five Disciplines for Creating What Customers Want, tells the story). Similarly, I was the program manager for Sarnoff’s work that helped in establishing DirectTv. I was the program manager for the development of low-cast decoder boxes (with a Japanese client) that would allow HD to be down-converted to SD. I was the program manager for a two-year, multi-disciplinary effort to transfer Sarnoff semiconductor and ceramic technology to a Korean client. I was the program manager for an early implementation of the system that does iris identification. I was program manager for a $6 million effort to develop a DVD decoder for a Japanese client. I was the program manager for several projects with Motorola to develop the integrated circuits needed to receive and decode HDTV. The latter project had workers in Munich, Princeton, Phoenix, and Hong Kong. I was the program manager for the development of a high-speed TDI imager and camera for a Japanese client. I represented RCA on several semiconductor industry councils, where I traveled across the country reviewing developments taking place in a dozen or more universities. There’s more—but you get the idea. I’m having fun. I’m also 73 years old with no prospect of retiring.
What is your proudest professional achievement?
I received a Semi Award for the work I did in developing ‘RCA clean’ and the deposition of oxides from silane. The Semi Award is the Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturer’s equivalent of an Oscar. Only one is given each year. Unlike Rodney Dangerfield, I get lots of respect for the RCA Clean work, especially when visiting Asian semiconductor manufacturing sites.
