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SEMI Europe announced the winners of the SEMI European Award 2025 and Special Service Award at the SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium Europe (ISS Europe) 2026 in Sopot, Poland. Peter O’Brien, Head of Research, Photonics Packaging & Systems Integration at Tyndall National Institute, received the SEMI European Award, while Eric Beyne, Program Director of the 3D System Integration Program at imec, received the Special Service Award.
For more than 30 years, these prestigious awards have recognized influential leaders whose vision and dedication have advanced the semiconductor industry and strengthened Europe’s role in the global technology ecosystem.
“We are honored to recognize Peter O’Brien and Eric Beyne for their outstanding contributions to advancing semiconductor innovation and strengthening Europe’s technology ecosystem,” said Laith Altimime, President of SEMI Europe. “Their leadership and vision have helped drive transformative progress across the industry while inspiring the next generation of engineers and researchers, reflecting the spirit of collaboration and innovation that continues to propel the semiconductor industry toward a more resilient, digital, and sustainable future.”
O’Brien is recognized for his leadership in advancing photonic-electronic packaging technologies and strengthening the global advanced packaging ecosystem. Through initiatives such as the European Semiconductor Pilot Lines, he has helped make state-of-the-art packaging technologies accessible to industry and academia worldwide.
In addition to his research leadership, O’Brien has pioneered education and training programs in advanced packaging, helping ensure the semiconductor industry has access to a highly skilled future workforce.
“It is a great honour to receive the SEMI European Award for 2025,” said O’Brien. “Through this award, I would like to recognise my many collaborators around the world. Working together, we accelerate research and development, turning early ideas into impactful breakthroughs. I would also like to thank SEMI for its leadership in fostering collaboration and building roadmaps that illuminate the way forward.”
Beyne is recognized for his pioneering contributions to 3D integration and high-density interconnection technologies, enabling more compact and powerful electronic systems. In his role at imec, Beyne has led research advancing next-generation semiconductor integration and packaging technologies.
Beyne’s contributions have earned widespread recognition, including the 2016 European Semiconductor Award from SEMI Europe and the distinction of imec Senior Fellow. He is also an active member of the IEEE Electronics Packaging Society (IEEE-EPS) and IMAPS, where he continues to drive innovation across the semiconductor industry.
“I feel deeply honored by this recognition of my research and work for the semiconductor industry,” said Beyne. “Over my 43-year career, I’ve seen remarkable progress in interconnection and packaging technologies, particularly 3D integration. Collaboration with SEMI has been a gateway to the broad ecosystem that drives our industry, and I see this award as encouragement for our team at imec to continue on this path.”
Nominations for the 2026 SEMI European Award are open. Please see the award guidelines. Prior SEMI European Award recipients hailed from companies including ASM, Catholic University of Leuven, CEA-Leti, EV Group, Fraunhofer Institute, imec, Infineon, Melexis, NXP, Schneider Electric, Soitec, STMicroelectronics, and the Technical University of Dresden. See the list of past SEMI European Award recipients.
