With a chemist for a father, Jim always knew he wanted to pursue a career in chemical engineering. Today he builds his and others’ ideas into the MEMS process flow and most recently implemented a change to strengthen the MEMS structure without adding complex additional processing or cost. This project additionally spawned five more patent applications from co-workers for this market.

New ideas are great, but equally important is that you prove them out and make sure they can work, so you can get them implemented, says Jim. When he has a new concept, he asks himself how fast can it be developed, how quickly can it address a market need, and how much will it cost?

TI changed the industry with digital displays more than a decade ago, and now Jim sees that same potential in applications that utilize non display MEMS chips. Alternative MEMS technologies will broaden TI’s MEMS markets beyond display applications.

Jim’s excitement over his work makes him successful. Looking at a picture of a digital micro mirror device (DMD) 20 years ago was all it took -- he got excited and knew he wanted to be part of that group. He loves that there’s something new, some unique application to try every single day. It’s what continues to fuel his passion for innovation.