Mark Melliar-Smith: Thank you. I appreciate your taking the time to talk to me today. I would also like to thank all of the people who are joining us online today to talk with me.

Mark Melliar-Smith: SEMATECH develops technology for computer chips that are more powerful, and less expensive. Industry has been very successful in doing this for several decades, which is, now, why you have a cell phone that will fit in your hand, or a CD player for under $100.

Mark Melliar-Smith: Our member companies, who represent about fifty percent of the world's semiconductor production, work with International SEMATECH to develop a technology program which meets the needs of our member companies. International SEMATECH then does the work, which is required. Obviously, it takes a lot of communication. Every member company has somewhat different needs. Companies are located all over the world. They are within the United States, but also within Asia and Europe. That's how we work with the member companies.

Mark Melliar-Smith: I have a Bachelors Degree and a Ph.D Degree in Chemistry and an MBA, obviously, in Business Administration. Another point I would make is that although my academic training is actually in chemistry, much of my career has been directed at engineering. Many of my colleagues have academic degrees, with many different scientific topics.

Mark Melliar-Smith: Oh, that's sort of a hard question. I think what I enjoy most about my job is the constantly changing technology, problems, and challenges I face. Every day is a different set of issues that have to be worked on. In the event that something doesn't go as we expect it, we don't give up; we just try to solve the problem a different way. Also, I very much enjoy the people that I interact with all over the world, and seeing a different culture and a different perspective helping us solve our problems. I guess, finally, without being too jingoistic, I like the fact that my job brought me to Texas! I have a philosophy, and have had for many years, that if I don't like the job, I move on. So when I pick on something saying I like it the least about my job, it really is much of a lesser thing than the fact that I like my job. That's really hard to answer, because I really do enjoy what I am doing. Occasionally, when something doesn't work, or disappoints our customers, that's something I don't like to do, which is to disappoint my customers.

Mark Melliar-Smith: Good question! My first answer is yes. Being a CEO is a stressful job. It's not because the job is difficult. It tends, to me, to be most stressful, because, ultimately, you are solely responsible for your company--the welfare of all of the employees. So you have nobody to blame, because you have nobody to go to and really seek advice or direction. Sometimes the job can get a little bit lonely. I deal with the stress, I think, in a couple of ways. The first is by talking to my team. I have a lot of very good people to help me. Secondly, I try to get in some exercise. Most days, I jog for about sixty minutes. That's a way of getting good exercise. Another thing I try to do to manage the stress is to keep my business life and my personal life separate. I try not to take my job home with me.

Mark Melliar-Smith: Lots of questions, and very good questions. Why don't we start with the first question, which is how much water do we actually use? And, yes, we do use a lot of water, in absolute terms. The way we measure our water usage is how many gallons of water are used to process a square centimeter of our product, because, obviously, depending on how much you are making depends on how much water you use. So we use a system of how many gallons per square centimeter. We typically use four gallons per square centimeter. International SEMATECH has a very active program to continually reduce the amount of water that we are using. For our member companies, they have been sharing best practices in the area of the environment, and we have seen significant improvements over the years in the amount of water being used. This is a very important thing for our industry. We understand that we cannot continue to expand unless we reduce the amount of resources that our companies need to manufacture their products. This is something that we refer to as sustainable growth. We cannot continue to grow rapidly unless we understand our impact on the environment. Let me now address the issue of water quality. Every factory that makes silicon chips is careful that when we return the water, the quality meets all federal and local regulations. In fact, our wastewater is purer than the water we receive from the water companies. Because we need such clean water to make our products, we are often able, in fact, to recycle the water from our factories. This, again, reduces the amount of water that we need. Finally, the question relating to where companies are located. This is obviously an individual decision made by each company, and for many different reasons. But regardless, those companies that do choose to locate in dry parts of the country have been meticulous in both how they get the water they need and how carefully they use it. So the final answer to them is that in addition to water, we are also very concerned with other aspects of the environment, including the amount of power that we use, and any emissions that the factories produce. These are areas that we work on very hard, as well.

Mark Melliar-Smith: It depends on what jobs you want in the industry. Typically, most companies require, at least, a two-year community college degree to work in our factories. This obviously does require a fair bit of math and science. I would recommend any student who would like to work in this industry to take advantage of all of the math and science courses their schools offer. That will help you when you move on to community college, if you take that route. If you choose to go on to obtain a four-year engineering degree, then, clearly, a good high school background in math and science is really important. In addition, all of our engineers need to be able to express their ideas clearly. Your courses in English and Social Studies are just as important as math and science. Some familiarity with being able to use a computer is also crucial to our industry, which is very highly automated.

Mark Melliar-Smith: Because I live on this Earth. Now, let me explain why, as CEO, what I do is particularly important. Engineers in our industry know more about the chemicals they use than anybody. In addition to that, as employees of this industry, we live and work very close to the factories, so it would make a lot of sense if we are impacted most, we should care most about the environment that we would be interested in. Finally, I would say that every company and CEO, no matter what industry they are in, has the responsibility to the country, and the population, to assure we do everything we can to protect the environment. I don't view this as a government inspector's job, or even the Sierra Club. This is my responsibility, and I take it very seriously.

Mark Melliar-Smith: I think Austin is a very favorable environment for high-tech companies. It is a great place to live. It has a lot of things to do outdoors, and in terms of entertainment, and it has a very diverse population. All of those things tend to attract people who wish to work in high technology. Additionally, it doesn't snow very much in Austin, and people like that as well, especially me! Austin also has some very good universities, which help industries get started.

Mark Melliar-Smith: Oh, tough question! If I could really answer that question, I might be investing in something else! (smile) I believe that communications is probably the most crucial aspect of high-tech at the moment. We need to find a way to provide a high bandwidth connection to every home, and, perhaps, every person on the move. This will allow us to be much more effective. It will also enrich the communication experience with real time video, and a much faster response to questions that are asked. At the moment, it is relatively expensive to provide this capability. We need to make this less expensive and more universal. Further out in time, I believe that microelectronics and equivalent miniaturization will have a tremendous impact on medicine and health care. The transistors we make today are now of the same dimension of many of the building blocks of life like blood cells, bacteria, and so on. Our ability to make devices this small will surely allow us to bring exciting things to biotechnology.

Mark Melliar-Smith: SEMATECH does not make money. In fact, we have a budget that is paid for by our member companies each year. So at the end of the year, when we have figured our work and spent our money, we get a new budget for the next year. We do not make a profit like a normal company does. Rather, we provide a service for our members; they pay us what it costs.

Mark Melliar-Smith: It's very interesting, since you get to meet so many managers with different experiences and cultural backgrounds. The Europeans think a little differently from the Americans, and the Americans are different from the Asians. We have a melting pot of different cultures in our building, which very much adds to the strength of the organization, because although we have different backgrounds, we have a common goal--to drive our technology further and faster.

Mark Melliar-Smith: Let me deal with the second question first. Yes, I've lived in a variety of different places. I've lived and worked on four continents--Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. Do I speak many languages? Not as well as I would like. I do try to speak at least somewhat in the country I happen to be. It doesn't take an enormous effort to be able to say, "Please," "Thank you," and "How are you?" in any language. And it means so much to the people in another country that you respect their language enough to at least be able to say some words. I can speak a little bit of some of the European languages, but not too much in Asia.

Mark Melliar-Smith: My answer to that question is absolutely! You should prepare the same way that anybody else would prepare. You need to have a good background, as we talked about, in education, and you need to be willing and dedicated to solving problems. I would emphasize, from my perspective, knowing many countries around the world, one of the great strengths of the United States is the opportunity it provides for women in the workplace. No country in the world, nor any company, for that matter, will do well if it ignores half of the talent that is accessible just by employing men. I know it often seems that most of the people who work in high-tech industry are men, but, really, that isn't true. There are lot of jobs and opportunities for women, and I would encourage anybody in this chat to take advantage of those opportunities.

Mark Melliar-Smith: I know my projects are working correctly for two reasons. First, we meet our milestones, which essentially means that we do what we have planned to do, and when we have planned to have it done. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, customers tell me that they are pleased with the results.

Mark Melliar-Smith: At SEMATECH, we understand that some of the best ideas come from small, start-up companies. But at the same time, we need to be able to use the technology all over the world, and, often, very quickly. This can be a challenge for a small company to support such a global activity. At International SEMATECH, we try to help bridge this gap by giving early notice to the small companies of what is needed and expected in the future. Also, sometimes, we fund a small company to help them get their products to market quickly. And yes, it is fun working with small companies, who often bring almost personal dedication to it. Often, the CEO is truly a champion of his or her ideas, and is willing to work long hours to make it happen.

Mark Melliar-Smith: I think, probably, my next position will be one that involves more guidance and support than it does executive management. I look to the future. I would like to spend more time on philanthropic activities. Presently, I work on several not-for-profit foundations, and I would like to give it more time. I think that I would use my experience to help some smaller start-up companies head in the right direction. But whatever I do, you can be sure that it will be fun. In fact, from an early age, one of my main objectives was to like what I did, and to find somebody who was willing to pay me a lot of money to do it.

Mark Melliar-Smith: I have not written any books. I have written chapters of technical books.

Mark Melliar-Smith: What SEMATECH does is mostly research and development, and that tends to be less impacted by day-to-day ups and downs. I'm mindful of economic challenges that our member companies face today. SEMATECH has been impacted as we try to watch our expenses very carefully and reduce our costs. The semiconductor industry tends to be cyclical, and while we are going through a down cycle today, I very much expect it to come back fairly soon. And we will continue to grow quickly, as a result. For small companies, yes, I'm sure that they will be impacted by the recession. Less sales and investment are out there today than there was a year ago. As I mentioned before, most of these small companies are led by people who have great faith in their products, and while they may have to slow down a bit, they will be back tomorrow.

Mark Melliar-Smith: Yes, we do have internships for high school students. They work in a variety of different areas of our organization. Some work in the engineering areas, and some work in a variety of other business support activities, such as communications, information technology, and so on. If you are interested in an internship, you can either write to our Human Resources organization, or you can look on our web site, http://www.SEMATECH.org

Mark Melliar-Smith: Well, five years ago, I was working at AT&T. In fact, AT&T was a member of SEMATECH; it was one of the member companies. As a Chief Technical Officer (CTO) at AT&T, I had served on the Board of Directors at SEMATECH since 1990. The previous CEO decided to retire. He formed a search committee that looked at a variety of different people, finally asking me if I would be willing to come to Austin to the job. And since I thought it would be a fun change from what I was doing, I was happy to accept. I can honestly say that I have not regretted that decision at all.

Mark Melliar-Smith: Good question! I think there are probably four things that sort of come to mind. First is an insatiable interest in technology and how technology can improve people's lives. The second thing I would bring would be the willingness to work hard at what I do. The third thing, which I feel is very important, is the ability to communicate with other people, and to listen and understand their points of view. The last personal value I would bring is integrity. Whatever you do, do what's right. I think it is that sort of integrity that requires us, as an industry, and myself as a CEO to, for example, pay a great deal of attention to the environment.

Mark Melliar-Smith: Well, I started with a four-year degree in Chemistry, which was, of course, broadly based, covering all aspects of chemistry. When I went on to do my PhD, I personally focused on a topic called chemical lasers, which was, to me, an interesting topic of how to take chemical energy, which is very abundant, and turn it into light energy in high powered lasers. But I think chemistry offers many opportunities. As I said before, I came out of a university with degrees in chemistry, and I think I can fairly say that I've been able to do almost anything I've wanted to do with that as a background. The key is, probably, to use your education as a way of allowing you to think logically and clearly.

Mark Melliar-Smith: Yes. I can offer a number of different resources that you could look at. Not knowing your exact circumstances, you can certainly find out about high-tech companies from your local Chamber of Commerce. Get their names. If you look at their web sites, you can learn a lot more. After that, if you've narrowed the list down a little bit, almost all companies will be very glad to take a telephone call from you about what they do. So you can call their Public Relations department and talk to them. Also, you can probably get help from your school guidance counselor.

Mark Melliar-Smith: Tough question. That's like saying, "Who's your favorite daughter?" One of my personal hobbies is reading, and I particularly enjoy historical novels. Although he writes very, very long books, I enjoy reading James Michener. I enjoy reading the books. I can often learn something of the history of a state or a country that I'm not aware of. I really don't have a favorite author, per se. What I do have is a favorite location, which tends to be my local public library.

Mark Melliar-Smith: SEMATECH stands for a shortened version of Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology. When SEMATECH was formed, there was great concern in the United States that our manufacturing technology was deficient, particularly with respect to the Japanese. Fifteen years ago, the U.S. companies wanted to correct that situation, forming a consortium focused on manufacturing technology--Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology, shortened to SEMATECH. Five years ago, we broadened the membership to admit companies from all over the world, and, for that reason, we are now called International SEMATECH.

Mark Melliar-Smith: Membership to SEMATECH is open to companies that have common interests in semiconductor manufacturing technology. We want to make sure members have similar interests, so not all companies fit our profile. However, we do provide information and support to the whole industry in order to keep a common manufacturing excellence in the industry, as a whole.

Mark Melliar-Smith: Ultimately, there will be a limit to Moore's Law, how small you can make transistors as we know them today. However, there is no limit to the innovation of human beings, and once we start to slow down technology, we will find something better to replace it.

Mark Melliar-Smith: I'm going to let Carly Fiorina sort that out! I used to know Carly when she worked for AT&T. She is a very capable individual. I'm sure she will sort it out.

Mark Melliar-Smith: Well, first of all, I would like to thank all of you for taking the time to talk to me today, and for asking so many interesting and penetrating questions. I would encourage all of you to consider a career in technology. It's very exciting, lots of fun, and you can find yourself doing something different every day. So again, thank you for your time.