From Next-Gen Mobile Phones and Game Controllers to Wireless Crop Monitoring Systems, Energy Harvesters and Adaptive Rate Pacemakers, MEMS and Business Execs Explore MEMS in Commercial Apps

PITTSBURGH, PA--(Marketwire - September 17, 2008) - At MEMS Executive Congress 2008, Roger Meike, Research Director for Project Sun SPOT at Sun Microsystems Laboratories, will deliver an opening keynote on how MEMS -- tiny microelectromechanical systems that act like miniature machines -- will enable cars, bicycles, refrigerators and countless other applications to connect us with our environment in entirely new ways. In his closing keynote, Nokia Research Center Director Dr. Tapani Ryhänen will talk about the ways in which MEMS and nanotechnology will dramatically alter the mobile phone -- ultimately transforming it into a stretchable, flexible, self-cleaning device complete with ambient intelligence. From November 5-7 in Monterey, executives from the MEMS industry, including Analog Devices, Freescale, OMRON, STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments, will join Meike, Ryhänen and other business leaders from companies using MEMS with the common goal of promoting greater adoption of the technology in a variety of commercial applications.

"At MEMS Executive Congress, I plan to speak with attendees about Project Sun SPOT, Sun's MEMS-based platform for developing smaller, more secure and more capable wireless devices," said Roger Meike, research director for Project Sun SPOT. "Sun SPOT integrates MEMS sensors to provide real-world data to connected devices. Through work that we did with an automotive manufacturer, for example, we integrated Sun SPOT into a car and home appliances so that the car's driver would never again wonder if the iron was still on after they left home. I am looking forward to exploring the potential commercial applications of Sun SPOT with an audience so closely aligned with our core MEMS technology and to expanding upon the synergy that will be created at this exciting MEMS industry networking event."

"What is the next step for the mobile phone?" asks Dr. Tapani Ryhänen, director of Nokia Research Center. "What will the mobile phone look like in 2010, in 2015? At Nokia Research Center -- where we have been implementing MEMS in mobile device concepts for more than a decade -- we are creating a vision that merges the physical world with innovative digital services. I look forward to sharing my view of the future of mobile devices with the MEMS Congress audience."

The agenda for MEMS Executive Congress also features several panel discussions:

--  "Convergence of MEMS in Consumer Electronics and Mobile
    Communications," moderated by Scott Smyser, VP and General Manager, VTI
    Technologies with panelists representing Red Octane, Pixtronix, Microsoft
    and NXP Semiconductors;
--  "MEMS Inside: Enabling Low Power, Energy Monitoring and Conservation,"
    moderated by Calin Miclaus, Manager, MEMS Technology, Kavlico with
    panelists from Neah Power Systems, Crossbow, Cymbet and Texas Instruments;
--  "MEMS Emerging Technology Outlook," moderated by Magnus Rimskog, Sales
    Director, North America, Silex Microsystems, with panelists representing
    Tohoku University/SiTime, GE Sensing, Bosch Research and Technology Center,
    and Microfabrica;
--  "MEMS Market Analysis," moderated by David Tietjen, Vice President,
    Sales and Marketing, Merit Sensor Systems with panelists from Bourne
    Research, Chipworks, iSuppli, Roger Grace Associates and Yole
    Développement; and
--  "Investments in MEMS Leading to Liquidity Events -- a VC Perspective,"
    moderated by Jim Knutti, President/CEO, Acuity Inc. with panelists from
    Honeywell Aerospace, Intel Capital, RPM Ventures and McDermott Will & Emery
    LLP.
    

Karen Lightman, managing director of MEMS Industry Group, the industry organization hosting the MEMS Congress, commented on the convergence of MEMS, a central theme to this year's Congress: "As MEMS technology has become more mainstream, we are seeing increasing convergence in a single product. Mobile phones are a good example. While a handful of MEMS devices in a mobile device once represented the highest level of innovation, now we are talking about dozens and soon we will be talking about hundreds."

Lightman added: "MEMS Executive Congress provides a truly unique venue promoting a very candid exchange of information between the companies at the forefront of MEMS design and manufacturing and the companies leading the way in MEMS implementation. Better communication between these groups furthers increased usage of MEMS in real-world applications."

About MEMS Executive Congress

MEMS Executive Congress is an annual event that brings together business leaders from a broad spectrum of industries: automotive, consumer goods, energy/environmental, industrial, medical and telecom. It is a unique professional forum at which executives from companies designing and manufacturing MEMS technology sit side-by-side with their end-user customers in panel discussions and networking events to exchange ideas and information about the use of MEMS in commercial applications.

Sponsors of MEMS Executive Congress 2008 include: Analog Devices, Brewer Science, EV Group, Freescale, IceMOS Technology, Marketwire, Maxim Integrated Products, Micralyne, Okmetic, Plan Optik, Surface Technology Systems (STS), SUSS MicroTec, SVTC, Tegal Corporation and Tronics Microsystems SA.

MEMS Executive Congress will be held November 5-7, 2008 at the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa in Monterey, CA. For more information, please contact MIG via phone: 412/390-1644, email: info@memsindustrygroup.org or visit MEMS Executive Congress at: www.memscongress.com.

For press and analyst registration, please contact Maria Vetrano, Vetrano Communications, phone: 617/876-2770.

About MEMS Industry Group

MEMS Industry Group is the trade association representing the MEMS and microstructures industries. The Association enables the exchange of non-proprietary information among members; provides reliable industry data that furthers the development of technology; and works toward the greater commercial development and use of MEMS and MEMS-enabled devices. More than 80 companies comprise MIG, including Analog Devices, Asia Pacific Microsystems, Bosch, Bullen Ultrasonics, Draper Laboratory, Ferro Corporation, GE Global Research and GE Sensing, Honeywell, IBM, IDT, Intel, Okmetic, OMRON, Sand 9, STMicroelectronics, Taiwan Solutions Systems Corporation and Texas Instruments. For more information, please contact MIG via phone: 412/390-1644, email: info@memsindustrygroup.org or visit www.memsindustrygroup.org.

Contact Information: PRESS CONTACTS (For Editors Only): MEMS Industry Group Karen Lightman Phone: 412/390-1644 Email: Vetrano Communications Maria Vetrano Phone: 617/876-2770 Email: