MEMS 2023 Participation

The 36th edition of our partner conference, MEMS 2023, was hosted this year in Munich (Germany) from January 15th to 19th. Over the last decade, the MEMS community has experienced immense progress in the science and technology of miniaturization, as well as increasing technical maturity, and commercialization of ever smarter products encompassing edge-AI and IoT wireless connectivity. This year the Conference maintained a hybrid format that allowed some participants to present their work and attend virtually.

IEEE MEMS 2023 made a special effort to attract technical contributions from Industry by inviting accomplished professionals as Plenary Speakers, organizing an Industry Session on the 1st day of Conference, and showcasing their latest technologies in an Industry Workshop. A Technical Program Committee (TPC) formed by 47 international experts, with equal representation from the 3 regional divisions, and chaired by Prof. Núria Barniol (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona) and Dr. Franz Lärmer (Robert Bosch, GmbH) reviewed 636 abstracts and accepted 312 papers (4 invited plenary, 70 oral and 238 poster presentations), which set the acceptance rate to 49%. This year the prestigious IEEE 2023 Robert Bosch Micro and Nano Electro Mechanical Systems award went to the Gas Chromatograph on a Chip Project for “Pioneering contributions to MEMS by developing and commercializing the microfabricated gas chromatograph”, and the 4 invited Plenary Speakers were Dr. Stefan Finkbeiner (Robert Bosch, GmbH), Prof. Weileum Fang (National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan), Prof. Tony Jun Huang (Duke University, USA), and Prof. Elisabetta Comini (University of Brescia, Italy).

MEMS-TC Booth

The MEMS-TC held an exhibitor booth during the conference where we provided information to our visitors about our mission and values, upcoming sponsored and co-sponsored conferences, and encouraged them to join and participate in our activities. To host the booth, we received support from 4 PhD students from Northeastern University (Onurcan Kaya, Gabriel Giribaldi, and Nicolas Casilli) and Carnegie Mellon University (Mohammad Ayaz Masud) who rotated in groups of 2 during exhibitor and lunch breaks. The visitors consisted of many students that were initially attracted by our giveaways and wanted to know how to apply for conference travel support, and Industry professionals that were curious about our revenue generation activities. Among the swags we had pins, stylus pens, USB adaptors, and mugs, all customized with our logo.

MEMS-TC Adcom Meeting

Adcom meetings resumed in hybrid format with the in person component occurring in Munich, Germany during the 2023 IEEE MEMS Conference.  The meeting took place during lunch on the first day of sessions.  Attendees were primarily heavy lifters who had signed up and expressed interest in helping guide TC activities.  This meeting was used to provide an update to our community on activities since the 2020 IEEE MEMS Conference, the last meeting where the Adcom meeting occurred in person.

The meeting agenda included a brief over of IEEE and its organization along technical areas and region/geography.  This helped members understand the placement of a Technical Community within the category of technical area.  A quick debrief activities supported by the MEMS TC since its start in 2018 was given, with emphasis given to fully sponsored and technically co-sponsored conferences.  We continued our discussion about next steps for the MEMS Technical Community including Council and Society transition. The current governing structure was explained and then we wrapped up with a discussion about reaching out to more volunteers and input on activities.  A save-the-date announcement was provided to encourage participation in our longer TC wide meeting to occur two weeks later.