Konarka Recruits Recognized Leader in Polymer Electronics to Head Product Development

Konarka Technologies, Inc., (Lowell, MA) a developer of commercialized power plastics that convert light to energy, today announced Dr. Stuart Spitzer joined the Company as vice president, materials and engineering. In his role, he will lead product development for Konarka's light-activated power plastic.

"Dr. Spitzer is a seasoned technologist, who has led successful product development programs at both start-up operations and global technology companies," said Howard Berke, chairman and chief executive officer, Konarka. "As Konarka continues to grow and transform into a worldwide commercial operation, Dr. Spitzer's depth of experience in organic polymer electronics further strengthens our Company's management team and prospects for success in collaborating with our global partners."

Dr. Spitzer brings more than 37 years of semiconductor research and development experience in microelectronics, 25 of which are in technology management, to Konarka. Most recently, he was the director of Spansion, LLC's Boston Research Labs. Spansion is the memory subsidiary of AMD & Fujitsu, which had acquired Coatue Corporation, where Dr. Spitzer was the vice president of engineering. At Coatue, he worked in the nanotechnology area to develop polymer microelectronics. Prior to joining Coatue, Dr. Spitzer was at Polaroid, where he was tasked with creating the Microelectronics Laboratory, enabling Polaroid's successful entry into the electronic imaging business by developing solid state lasers, light emitting diodes and image sensors.

He was first employed by NASA to develop high-reliability microelectronics in support of manned space-flight missions. Thereafter, he worked at Bell Labs as a researcher on semiconductor opto-electronic devices and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology. He also started the VLSI Center at ITT, a state-of-the-art sub-micron design rule integrated circuit facility, with responsibility for developing the strategic plan linking the VLSI Center's roadmap with ITT's telecommunication needs.

"Helping Konarka achieve its vision for power plastic is a unique opportunity for me to apply my experience with polymer electronics," said Dr. Spitzer. "I'm very excited to be joining a strong, innovative team."

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