IBM’s Brown Named as New NIST Deputy Director

National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Ray Kammer has announced the appointment of Karen H. Brown as the agency’s new deputy director. Brown, who was most recently a Distinguished Engineer at IBM Microelectronics in Hopewell Junction, N.Y., also served (on assignment from IBM) as director of lithography for SEMATECH from 1994-1998 .

Brown’s 22-year career at IBM concentrated on solving problems in semiconductor lithography and microelectronics. She brings to NIST a proven track record in management, having successfully met the challenges of moving ideas from the laboratory into manufacturing. Brown also has a keen awareness of the impact of national and international standards on U.S. industry and the economy, having held a variety of standards leadership positions in Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International and helping to bring a semiconductor fabrication line on-board in France.

Brown’s service as a review panel member for the annual National Research Council assessment of the NIST Measurement and Standards Laboratories has given her a solid understanding of the agency’s mission and operations.

A native of Schenectady, N.Y., Brown holds a B.A. in chemistry and history, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Rochester. She takes over her new position at NIST from acting deputy director Robert Hebner. Hebner, formerly the deputy director of NIST’s Electronics and Engineering Laboratory, will return to EEEL as director following the retirement later this year of Judson French.

As a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Technology Administration, NIST promotes economic growth by working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards through four partnerships: the Measurement and Standards Laboratories, the Advanced Technology Program, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Baldrige National Quality Program.