Fairfield University's School of Engineering to host symposium | Press Releases

The School of Engineering at Fairfield University will host a symposium on (1) the automated lithography process, and (2) lean manufacturing on Friday, November 21, at 6 p.m. in room 102 of McAuliffe Hall. The workshop is the last of four in a series about new developments in technology.

The lectures and open discussions that follow are of interest to engineers working in industry as well as academic colleagues, and are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served at 6 p.m.

At 6:30 p.m. Kevin Violette will present "The Automated Lithography Process." In the semiconductor manufacturing process, photolithography is the method of printing circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. To meet demands of the semiconductor industry, this requires printing circuit features of around 100 nm today, a figure that will be reduced to 65 nm by the year 2005. This technology has essentially enabled the digital revolution over the past two decades. Mr. Violette will describe the automated lithography process and present information on the current state in technology and a roadmap showing where the technology is headed.

James Curry's "Planning for Lean Manufacturing," will follow at 7:30 p.m. Variability in processes, lead times and customer demand is a root cause of many problems in manufacturing and supply chain management. In high product mix environments, the problem is more pronounced, impacting service levels and financial performance. Mr. Curry will talk about a lean analysis methodology he has used successfully in major companies that is fundamental to beginning a lean manufacturing improvement program. The methodology is based on a statistical segmentation approach that he has used in both discrete process manufacturing industries at the factory level and across the supply chain.

The symposium is the last in a series of four workshops the School of Engineering has sponsored. For further information please contact Jay Hoffman at (203) 254-4000, ext. 3080 or via e-mail at jhoffman@mail.faifield.edu .