SEMI Honors 2026 North America Standards Award Winners at SEMICON West

Leaders Recognized for Significant Contributions to Standards Advancing Semiconductor Manufacturing

MILPITAS, Calif. – October 20, 2026 – SEMI, the industry association advancing the global semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing supply chain, today announced the recipients of the North America SEMI Standards Awards, presented on October 13 at SEMICON West 2026 in San Francisco. Leaders from across the microelectronics industry were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the SEMI Standards program that guide today’s semiconductor manufacturing processes. Award winners received accolades in one of five distinct categories. 

SEMI Standards Excellence Award

The SEMI Standards Excellence Award is the most prestigious honor for participants in the SEMI Standards program. The award is inspired by the leadership of Karel Urbanek, who led the program through the early years of internationalization. The award has been presented since 1992 to outstanding program members epitomizing Urbanek’s dedication.

The 2026 SEMI Standards Excellence Award honors Albert Fuchigami of PEER Group Inc. Fuchigami is a technical expert, standards leader, international collaborator, and dedicated volunteer willing to support others. Through sustained leadership, significant technical contributions, and collaboration across companies and regions, Fuchigami has made a lasting impact on SEMI Standards and the semiconductor industry. His work has helped advance equipment interoperability, cybersecurity, data governance, and digital manufacturing, making him an exemplary recipient of the SEMI Standards Excellence Award.

The Merit Award 

The 2026 Merit Award was presented to four individuals who made significant contributions to the semiconductor industry through the SEMI Standards program, leading projects to successful completion at the task force level. 

Robert McIntosh of Georg Fischer Piping Systems has been a driving force within the High Purity Polymer Materials and Components Task Force, providing exceptional leadership, technical expertise, and dedication to the SEMI Standards program. McIntosh led the revision and advancement of several key SEMI Standards, including SEMI F40, F57, and C90, helping ensure they continue to meet the evolving needs of the semiconductor manufacturing community. Most recently, he spearheaded the development and publication of SEMI F123, Guide for Meeting IRDS Yield Table Recommendations for High Purity Polymer Materials and Components Used in Ultrapure Water. Together with Task Force members, McIntosh's efforts have strengthened industry best practices, supported contamination control and yield improvement initiatives, and advanced standardization for high-purity materials and components used throughout semiconductor manufacturing.

Pradeep Lall of Auburn University and David H. Sabanosh of U.S. Army CCDC AC made significant contributions to the semiconductor and flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) industries through their leadership in the development and publication of SEMI FH5, Guide for Reliability of Flexible Hybrid Electronics. As co-leaders of the North America FHE Reliability and Testing Task Force, they helped establish the industry's first standardized framework for reliability assessment and testing of flexible hybrid electronic systems, enabling greater consistency, improved collaboration across the supply chain, and accelerated adoption of emerging FHE technologies.

Tami Tracey of PDF Solutions has successfully led the effort to completely revise SEMI E95, Specification for Human Interface for Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment, from the ground up, modernizing human interface standards for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. After more than five years of continuous effort, this work establishes a contemporary graphical user interface framework that improves usability, reduces training requirements, and promotes industry-wide consistency across multiple platforms hosted by semiconductor equipment software programs.

The Leadership Award 

The Leadership Award is earned by those who have strengthened the SEMI Standards program through member recruitment, training, and mentoring. This individual has been essential in transforming new volunteers into positive committee contributors by guiding them through the standardization process flow. 

Eric Sklar of Safety Guru has been an active and dedicated member of the SEMI Standards program since 1985. Over the course of more than four decades, he has made significant contributions to the development, maintenance, and advancement of SEMI Standards, particularly in the Environmental, Health, and Safety (EH&S) area.

Sklar has played a critical role in improving the clarity and precision of SEMI Standards, while helping guide complex standards development activities to completion. His leadership was particularly instrumental in advancing and completing revisions to SEMI S1 and S10. In addition to his leadership roles, Sklar has actively contributed to other task forces and technical areas, including Facilities, Gases, Liquid Chemicals, and Metrics. He recently became Co-Chair of the North America EH&S Technical Committee Chapter, further demonstrating his commitment to the SEMI Standards community.

The Honor Award

The Honor Award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated long-term dedication to advancing SEMI Standards. These industry leaders have served the program consistently over several years.

Frank Summers of Industrial Strength Graphics International successfully helped lead the effort to completely revise SEMI E95 from the ground up, modernizing human interface standards for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. In addition, Summers has actively contributed to the independent review of SEMI Standards draft documents, helping ensure they are evaluated in accordance with established adjudication procedures. His longstanding dedication to SEMI Standards and active participation in Information & Control Technical Committee meetings, spanning more than 20 years, has helped increase the quality and integrity of SEMI Standards.

Technical Editor Appreciation Award 

The Technical Editor Appreciation Award recognizes technologists with highly developed language skills. Individuals who earn this award are adept at translating complex technical information into clear and precise expressions.           

Dave Dunne of Applied Materials was instrumental in the development, review, and successful publication of SEMI E191, Specification for Computing Device Cybersecurity Status Reporting, and its subordinate standard, SEMI E191.1, Specification for SECS-II Protocol for Computing Device Cybersecurity Status Reporting. These standards establish requirements for reporting cybersecurity status information from computing devices used within semiconductor manufacturing environments. By providing visibility into these operating systems, these standards help equipment users assess cybersecurity risk, strengthen supply chain security, and reduce vulnerabilities to cyberattacks. Dunne’s technical expertise and careful attention to language helped shape these standards to ensure that complex cybersecurity status information is communicated clearly, precisely, and consistently.

For more information, visit the SEMI Standards webpage. 

About SEMI

SEMI® is the global industry association connecting over 4,000 companies and 1.5 million professionals worldwide across the semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing supply chain. We accelerate member collaboration on solutions to top industry challenges through Advocacy, Workforce Development, Sustainability, Supply Chain Management and other programs. Our SEMICON® expositions and events, technology communities, standards and market intelligence help advance our members’ business growth and innovations in design, devices, equipment, materials, services and software, enabling smarter, faster, more secure electronics. Visit www.semi.org, contact a regional office, and connect with SEMI on LinkedIn and X to learn more.