Antonio R. Alvarez

I consider myself fortunate to have had a rewarding career during the formative years of the semiconductor industry. The first half of my professional life was focused on engineering new products and technologies, competing against some of the best companies in the world. I worked with talented teams of engineers on new technologies for fabricating integrated circuits. That work led to numerous new products that generated hundreds of millions of dollars as well over 25 publications in the field of Integrated Circuits. I also had the opportunity to work with peers in other companies and academia in editing the book "BiCMOS Technology & Applications". The international aspect of my work enabled me to visit many different countries and develop friendships all over the world.

In the second half of my career I held C-Level as well as public and private board positions with various companies in the semiconductor and renewable energy fields. Being involved in the renewable energy industry during the past few years has been a reinvigorating experience. My article “Deconstructing Solar Photovoltaic Energy - Parts 1 & 2,” published December 2012 in PV International provides an easy to follow overview of this critical aspect of our energy system.

I've always enjoying teaching and writing. Over the years I taught short workshops on Problem Solving, Project Management, Industrial Statistics and even Basic Financials for Non-Finance Types. All were topics I found useful in my day job. I have posted most of the workshop material on Slide Share. Recently I became interested in econometric modeling, in particular now-casting recessions, and published an amateur's approach to the problem in a series of four short articles on Linked-In. I just finished a book on Business Process Improvement, a skill set critical to all companies with which I have been associated. Its now available on Amazon .

By way of education, I earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and currently serve as a member of their Advisory Board. I really enjoy staying involved with Tech and am blown away by the capability of the current graduates. They're tackling problems that I would not have dreamed of attempting to solve when I was in their shoes. Heck, I wouldn't attempt to solve them now. It's impressive to see what is being taught in engineering schools these days. It inspires me to stay curious.