2003 Simon Karecki Award Presented

Nikhil Krishnan, University of California at Berkeley

February 12, 2003 -- The 2003 Simon Karecki Award was presented to Nikhil Krishnan, a student at the University of California at Berkeley, at the review of the SRC/NSF Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing. The award presentation recognized Nikhil’s research in design tools to assist in environmental decision making in semiconductor manufacturing.

The award is funded by the Simon Karecki Endowment and was presented by Dr. Farhang Shadman, director of the CEBSM, and Simon’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Karecki.

The following is the text from presentation made by Dr. Shadman.

Two years ago, the ERC family lost a person who was very precious and dear to all of us. The very untimely loss of Dr. Simon Karecki is not an event that we can forget. Friends and colleagues of Simon came together and established the Simon Karecki Endowment in his memory. This will be a way of remembering an outstanding individual and researcher, and a way to encourage other talented young researchers in the pursuit of environmental research.

Before I present this year's Simon Karecki Award, I would like to recognize those members of the Governing Board who are present today: Reed Content, AMD; Ken Aitcheson, Novellus; Rafael Reif, MIT, and Tim Wooldridge, SRC. Coleen Miller, TI, and Laurie Beu, Motorola, also serve on the Governing Board, but could not be with us today.

On behalf of the ERC, SRC, and the Karecki Endowment Governing Board, it is a great pleasure to present the 2003 Simon Karecki Award to Nikhil Krishnan from the University of California at Berkeley. Nikhil is pursuing his PhD in Mechanical Engineering with research in design tools to assist in environmental decision making in semiconductor manufacturing. Nikhil has maintained a near 4.0 GPA throughout his graduate career and has co-authored a long list of publications and conference presentations relating to environmental issues. His interests are wide and encompassing; one reviewer remarked that he is "very Simon" in the diversity of his interests. And, like Simon and the first winner of this Award, he seeks to pass his enthusiasm for environmental issues along to younger students. It is the decision of the Governing Board that Nikhil is eminently well qualified to receive the second Simon Karecki Award.

We are very fortunate to once again have Mr. and Mrs. Karecki with us today; it is a distinct honor for us to have them here, and we would like to ask them to present this award to Nikhil.

Nikhil, this award is given in recognition of your past accomplishments, and to encourage you toward even greater accomplishments in the future.