MONTEREY, Calif. – June 20, 2017 – FlexTech, a SEMI Strategic Association Partner, announced the 2017 FLEXI Award winners at 2017FLEX, the 16^th Annual Flexible and Printed Electronics Conference.  The FLEXIs, now in their 6^th year, recognize outstanding work and achievements of organizations and individuals active in flexible hybrid electronics (FHE). The four categories include R&D, Innovation & Commercialization, Industry Leadership, and Education Leadership. This year, five recipients were honored, with two winners in the Product Innovation category.

Nominations in the Product Innovation category are evaluated on the product design and ingenuity, market adoption and revenue generation of products announced within the last twelve months.  Award winners were:

• YUASA System Co, Ltd. for their FX-FSC90 Tension-Free Ushape Folding Test Jig, a tension- and friction-free FHE testing jig that returns consistent and accurate data from bending tests. “It is an honor to have our innovation and technical expertise recognized by the FlexTech group and to receive a FLEXI award,” said Yasuhisa Okazaki, EVP of Yuasa System Co. “The award validates our commitment to the U.S. market and to the flexible display industry.”
• NuCurrent for developing efficient printed antennas for wireless power transfer.  NuCurrent’s technology enabled the world’s first through-table charge approved by the FCC and the AirFuel standard.

In the R&D Achievements category, the winner is chosen for research approach, originality and commercial potential for expanding the scope for flexible and/or printed electronics and manufacturing processes:

• Ana Claudia Arias from University of California, Berkeley for the development of flexible medical sensors and printed flexible devices. Her breakthrough research has led to the creation of flexible receiving coils for magnetic resonance imaging devices and devices for impedance sensing for the detection of early pressure ulcers in vivo.

The Technology Leadership in Education Award is recognition for outstanding contribution to the flexible electronics industry through education, either via a certified education institution or internal corporate workforce development activity. This year’s award went to:

• Brewer Science for establishing a company culture that fosters creativity and innovation.

The Industry Leadership Award recognizes an individual who has shown particular dedication to building awareness of the possibilities that FHE bring to the broader field of electronics:

• Dalen Keys from DuPont for his technical acumen and business development experience. At critical junctures, Keys provided leadership that resulted in public/private partnerships among industry, government and the R&D communities.

FlexTech’s FLEXI Awards recognize achievements of organizations and individuals in the flexible hybrid electronics sector in the categories of R&D, Innovation & Commercialization, Industry Leadership and Education Leadership. 2017FLEXI awards were sponsored and presented by Lockheed Martin. Click here to see past award winners. Learn more about FlexTech.

About FlexTech

FlexTech, a SEMI Strategic Association Partner, is focused on growth, profitability, and success throughout the manufacturing and distribution chain of flexible hybrid electronics, by developing solutions for advancing these technologies from R&D to commercialization. Visit FlexTech at www.flextech.org and follow FlexTech on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Association Contact

Heidi Hoffman
FlexTech | SEMI
Email: hhoffman@semi.org
Phone: +1.408.943.7954