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Dr. David N.K. Wang is a renowned executive and innovator with over 35 years of leadership in the global semiconductor industry. Born in Nanjing, China, and raised in Taiwan, he earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Wang holds more than 100 patents and is widely recognized for his technological breakthroughs and strategic business leadership.
He began his career at Bell Laboratories, where his pioneering research generated patents that earned over one billion U.S. dollars in royalties for AT&T. In 1980, Dr. Wang joined Applied Materials, where he co-developed the Precision 5000—the industry's most successful product, later inducted into the Smithsonian Institution. Over 25 years at Applied Materials, he rose to Global Executive Vice President and President of Applied Materials Asia, driving global expansion and establishing major R&D and manufacturing hubs in China.
Dr. Wang later led transformative initiatives in China’s semiconductor sector. As CEO of Huahong Group and Chairman of HuaHong NEC, he positioned the company as China's first integrated device manufacturer. At SMIC, he executed a historic turnaround, achieving profitability for the first time. In 2016, as founding Chairman and CEO of ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), he established China’s first DRAM fabrication facility and launched 19nm DDR4 DRAM production in 2018.
His contributions have earned him the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award from SEMI and induction into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame. Dr. Wang has served on numerous boards and advisory councils, including SMIC, the U.S. Pacific Council, and the Pacific Basin Economic Council. He has also advised the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China and participated in high-level trade missions, including the Bush Administration's first official business delegation to China.
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