October 22-23, the 2026 Albany Nanotechnology Symposium will convene at UAlbany’s ETEC Building, culminating UAlbany’s Research & Economic Development Week with a focus on the critical measurements used in advanced chip fabrication. The symposium will feature Daniel Schmidt, chief technology officer at Laser Thermal, delivering a keynote address titled “Keeping the AI Era Cool: Thermal Metrology for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing,” addressing the escalating heat challenges posed by increasingly powerful AI processors.
Teresa Wu, who works in Semiconductors Design Program Management, will deliver opening remarks. Michele Grimm, dean of UAlbany’s College of Nanotechnology, Science and Engineering, notes that
Symposium Focus: Metrology for Advanced Semiconductor Fabrication
The 2026 Albany Nanotechnology Symposium will dedicate a workshop to the 40th anniversary of Atomic Force Microscopy, a technique that fundamentally altered nanoscience by enabling scientists to visualize and measure atomic-scale phenomena. This session highlights the enduring importance of foundational metrology tools even as the field rapidly advances toward more complex characterization methods. Attendees will also hear from David Palsulich, director of Corporate Labs and Incoming Quality Control at Micron, indicating a strong industry presence and a practical focus on translating research into manufacturing solutions.
The event, coinciding with the final two days of UAlbany’s Research & Economic Development Week, positions itself as a key culmination of regional research activity. Beyond established techniques, the symposium will explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping semiconductor manufacturing.
The symposium is organized by companies and institutions affiliated with the Albany Nanotech Complex, including UAlbany, Tokyo Electron and GlobalFoundries, demonstrating a collaborative approach to addressing shared challenges in semiconductor research and manufacturing. Damon Tsai, senior director of product marketing at Applied Materials, is among the over two dozen scheduled speakers. The annual event’s growing attendance and participation reflect the expanding body of semiconductor expertise concentrated in the Capital Region.
“Keeping the AI Era Cool: Thermal Metrology for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing,” about the challenges of keeping chips cool as growing AI workloads generate more heat.
See today’s quantum computing news on Quantum Zeitgeist for the latest breakthroughs in qubits, hardware, algorithms, and industry deals.
