Dr. Dwayne LaBrake assumed the role of TIE CEO in February 2025. Dwayne is a seasoned leader in the semi-conductor industry, with extensive experience in developing cutting-edge technologies and products. He earned his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry and completed post-doctoral work at Northwestern University. Dwayne began his industrial career at 3M, where he spent 5 years in a staff research lab, focusing on the development of holographic optical elements. He later expanded his expertise spending 5 years in 3M’s fiber optic Telecommunication’s business, developing technologies, manufacturing equipment, and processes to deliver products to the Telcom market.  While at 3M, Dwayne earned the prestigious Circle of Technical Excellence award twice for leadership and technical innovation.

In 2003, Dwayne joined Molecular Imprints, Inc. (MII), a spin-off from the University of Texas, where he pioneered nanoimprint lithography (NIL) technologies. As Director and then Vice President, he led advancements in process and materials development, customer applications, and mask and ink-jet technology. Following MII’s acquisition by Canon Inc. in 2014, Dwayne became instrumental in the formation of Canon Nanotechnologies (CNT), an R&D and early-stage product development company focused on advancing NIL and supporting the semiconductor market. As CEO of CNT since 2016, he has overseen next-generation technology and product development in collaboration with Canon Japan, inserting new products into leading US semiconductor companies. He holds more than 63 US patents and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, further cementing his reputation as a leader in semiconductor technology and nanofabrication.

Dr. S.V. Sreenivasan founded the Texas Institute for Electronics (TIE) in 2021 and currently serves as the CTO. He is also the Cockrell Family Regents Endowed Chair #7 in Engineering and Assoc. VP of Semiconductor Manufacturing at UT Austin. He is an expert in semiconductor equipment & process technologies. He has previously served as PI/co-PI of the $40M NSF funded NASCENT Center, PI of a $36M NIST ATP program, and PI or co-PI of several DARPA programs. He founded a UT-Austin spin out, Molecular Imprints, Inc. (MII), to commercialize nanoimprint lithography. MII’s semiconductor business was acquired by Canon Corporation, and MII’s display division was acquired by Magic Leap, Inc. Sreenivasan is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He earned a Bachelor of Technology from the National Institute of Technology at Trichy (India), and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.

Dave Gino is a technology and semiconductor industry veteran with over 35 years of experience in senior executive roles. Dave came to Austin in 1996 as part of the IPO spin out of Dupont Photomask (DPI) from Dupont. His experience ranges from large public companies to small startups with a very broad background raising critical growth capital including two initial public offerings, a number of venture-backed equity and debt financings, product and IP licensing, and creatively structured commercial partner funding arrangements.

He is also an active angel investor and mentor to early-stage startups in Austin.

TIE Executive Director of Business Strategy, Srikanth Gondi leads product and business initiatives. Previously, as VP of Engineering at Keyssa (acquired by Molex), his team pioneered 60GHz mmWave connectivity with industry deployment in over 70 million devices and recognized with CES, Edison, and Stevie® awards. He also co-founded a AI-powered SaaS healthcare platform startup.

Gondi co-invented the memory interface adopted as LPDDR4, now in over 3 billion devices, and holds 15+ U.S. patents. He has managed P&Ls, driven global partnerships, and served as IEEE Associate Editor, earning the Best Editor award in 2014. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from UCLA and a Master of Science in Management as a Sloan Fellow from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Tom Weichel, Interim SR VP of Operations at TIE, has 35 years of experience in Engineering, Quality and Operations Management. Tom’s employment spanned 30 years at Texas Instruments starting as a Process Engineer and worked through a variety of roles, in people and project management, in the technical disciplines of Process Integration & Development and factory operations. Tom also held the role of Worldwide Director of MAKE Quality which included supplier quality and internal audits assembly, test and wafer fab responsibility. Tom moved from Quality back to operations and led the successful Fab start of TI’s 300mm Richardson Fab which was the world’s first 300mm Fab dedicated to analog technology. Tom stayed on as the factory manager leading the ramp to volume before eventually moving into the role of World Wide VP of Fab Operations. Tom then served as COO for True Velocity which is a start-up possessing a novel technology making lightweight ammunition. Tom joined TIE in October of 2024 to lead and oversee the Fab Start-up activity including Facilities, Operations, Equipment, Process and Quality.

Dr. S.V. Sreenivasan founded the Texas Institute for Electronics (TIE) in 2021 and currently serves as the CTO. He is also the Cockrell Family Regents Endowed Chair #7 in Engineering and Assoc. VP of Semiconductor Manufacturing at UT Austin. He is an expert in semiconductor equipment & process technologies. He has previously served as PI/co-PI of the $40M NSF funded NASCENT Center, PI of a $36M NIST ATP program, and PI or co-PI of several DARPA programs. He founded a UT-Austin spin out, Molecular Imprints, Inc. (MII), to commercialize nanoimprint lithography. MII’s semiconductor business was acquired by Canon Corporation, and MII’s display division was acquired by Magic Leap, Inc. Sreenivasan is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He earned a Bachelor of Technology from the National Institute of Technology at Trichy (India), and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.

Paras Ajay is a co-founder and senior manager at the Texas Institute for Electronics, wherein he has played key roles in roadmap definition, and overall 3D heterogeneous integration R&D. He has deep experience developing advanced nanofabrication and 3D HI processes and leading cross-functional teams that bridge systems design, metrology, and process integration.

He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, where his dissertation advanced overlay methods for lithography and heterogeneous integration. Prior to TIE, he served as a postdoctoral fellow with the NASCENT research center wherein he performed and supervised award-winning work on metal-assisted chemical etching. Paras is an active inventor, with over 20 allowed and 90 filed U.S. and international applications, and a contributor of journal and conference publications spanning nanoscale fabrication, overlay control, and metal-assisted chemical etching.

Dr. Larry Dunn is an expert in technical business development, consortium management, and technology transfer.  During TIE’s startup phase he served as the lead for TIE’s innovation ecosystem and workforce development programs.  He also serves as Asst. Director of the NSF-funded Nanomanufacturing Systems Center (NASCENT) at UT Austin.  Prior to joining UT, Larry was helped to build Atonometrics from an early-stage startup to a leading manufacturer of test and measurement equipment for the photovoltaic industry. Larry earned his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Texas at Austin, for which he was awarded the Ben Streetman Prize for outstanding research in electronic and photonic materials and devices, and his B.A. in physics from Hendrix College. Larry has co-authored 15 peer reviewed and popular scientific articles and is an inventor of 11 issued U.S. patents.

TIE Senior Director of Process Technology, Dr. Shrawan Singhal has deep experience developing and maintaining novel nanofabrication processes including creating processes of record and understanding yield and reliability. He has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin where he developed reduced order models with large-scale computation towards the investigation of novel multi-scale mechanics in nanomanufacturing processes over centimeter-scale areas, specifically related to ink jetting and nanoimprint lithography. He also has experience managing cleanroom facilities and in directing a team of research personnel. He has previously held a position as Process Technology Director of the NASCENT Center at UT Austin. He has co-authored several journal articles and conference presentations in the fields of nanoscale fabrication process development, as well as modeling and experimental validation of novel fabrication and optical metrology processes.

TIE Executive Director of Manufacturing Integration, Dr. Leonel Arana is a senior technology leader with extensive experience in semiconductor packaging, assembly, and test, specializing in advanced process integration, new material development, and managing large-scale R&D teams.

Before joining TIE, Leonel spent over 20 years at Intel Corporation in Assembly/Test Technology Development. At Intel, he pioneered and scaled up new technologies and processes across a broad range of packaging architectures, including MEMS, flip chip, and embedded die advanced packaging. Most recently, he led a large process development and factory engineering team focused on advanced panel-level packaging, including glass core substrate technology.

Leonel holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He began his academic journey with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

TIE Director of Technology, Dr. Shankar Devasenathipathy has over 20 years of experience in semiconductor packaging and thermal management. Prior to joining TIE, he worked at Intel Corporation, managing a team focused on advancing thermal metrologies. While at Intel, he also held an adjunct faculty position in the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy at Arizona State University serving on graduate thesis committees and teaching a graduate class in engineering.

He holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University with his early doctoral research in developing novel optical diagnostics and microfluidics-based heat transfer laying the groundwork for his later industry work. His engineering career started with a B.Tech. (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kharagpur. He has authored numerous publications and an inventor on multiple patents in semiconductor packaging.

TIE Executive Director of Process Integration, Dr. Sharath Hosali has over 25 years of experience in advanced semiconductor process engineering and integration, MEMS, nanostructures, and photonics. He has led technology development across startups, R&D consortia, and high-volume manufacturing, focusing on BEOL, 3D integration, and novel nanofabrication.

Previously, Dr. Hosali held engineering leadership roles at Quantum-Si and NanoMedical Systems, developing protein sequencing and implantable bio-nanofluidic drug delivery devices. He was also a key contributor to Sematech’s 3D program driving innovations in wafer bonding, TSV, metallization and CMP.

He holds a Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a B.Tech from IIT Madras. He is an inventor on multiple patents and has co-authored numerous publications in semiconductor processing and integration.

TIE Executive Director of FAB Engineering Processes and Equipment, Dr. Pratik Joshi has over 20 years of experience in semiconductor technology development and scaling, process / equipment engineering and high-volume manufacturing. He has led semiconductor FAB operations, technology transfers, FAB start-ups, yield enhancement and new process developments.
During his career, Dr. Joshi has worked at IBM T. J. Watson Research Labs, IBM 300mm HVM FAB at East Fishkill and Samsung 300mm HVM FAB at Austin. He has 15+ publications and 9 patents. He has served on the Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) for Texas A&M University, Materials Science Department and provided course work/lectures for Basic Semiconductor Technologies. He had also served on Executive Committee for the Cedar Ridge High School STEM program in Austin, TX. He has served as a peer reviewer for Applied Physics Letters (APL), and has given invited talks at ASMC, MRS, AVS, TMS, SMC, CMC and SEMICON west. Dr. Joshi, holds Ph.D. & M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Wright State University.

Janet oversees TIE’s day-to-day administrative operation, provides guardianship of university and agency system requirements, manages contracts, proposals, and human resources. Prior to TIE, her other significant roles at UT Austin included serving as the Administrative Director at the NSF-funded Nanomanufacturing Systems Center (NASCENT), and as Administrative Officer at the Institute for Advanced Technology.

TIE Director of Workforce Development, Dr. Alyssa Reinhart, leads initiatives to develop and enhance educational pathways, ensuring the semiconductor industry is equipped with a proficient workforce. With over 15 years of experience in education and workforce development, Dr. Reinhart has a proven track record in research, policy implementation, and strategic planning. Her career includes significant roles such as Director for Strategy and Resources in the College, Career, and Military Preparation Division at the Texas Education Agency, where she collaborated with state agencies to align educational programs with industry needs. Additionally, as a Senior Advisor to Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy Research, she helped developed a suite of analytical tools to assess student success and inform career pathways.

Dr. Reinhart holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, an M.A. in Program Evaluation, and a B.A. in Mathematics, all from The University of Texas at Austin. Her extensive expertise and dedication make her a vital contributor to TIE’s mission of advancing semiconductor workforce development.

In recognition of her leadership and expertise, Dr. Reinhart was appointed as an inaugural member of the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium Workforce Sub-committee, where she advises the Texas CHIPS Office on strategies to strengthen the state’s semiconductor workforce talent pipeline.  

Dr. Meghali Chopra is CEO and co-founder of SandBox Semiconductor. She is responsible for SandBox’s vision and strategy and oversees the development of SandBox’s software products and technologies.

Dr. Chopra has a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering with Honors from Stanford University and a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in Chemical Engineering. Her doctoral work focused on the use of Bayesian optimization for plasma-based etch and deposition semiconductor processes. Dr. Chopra was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research fellow and was elected to the Forbes 30 under 30 Science category in 2019. She is an industry expert with publications in leading peer-reviewed journals and patents in the areas of machine learning and AI-enabled optimization of semiconductor manufacturing processes and metrology.

Michael Holmes is the managing director of the Next Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing (NGMM) program. Prior to joining DARPA in September 2024, Holmes was at Sandia National Laboratories for more than 21 years. In his most recent role at Sandia, he was the senior manager of the protective technologies organization focused on specialized hardware systems security research. 

Previously, Holmes was responsible for operation of the largest U.S. government microfabrication facilities for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Microsystems Engineering, Science, and Applications (MESA) Center. He held additional roles at MESA including senior manager for the Heterogeneous Integration & RF Microsystems group, line manager for the Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) department, and mixed signal integrated circuit design engineer.

Dr. William Inboden began serving as executive vice president and provost on August 1, 2025. He also holds the William Powers Jr. Chair and a joint faculty appointment with the Department of History and the School of Civic Leadership. As the University’s chief academic officer, he leads UT Austin’s academic mission and ensures the excellence and continued innovation of research and teaching endeavors across campus. 

A distinguished teacher and scholar who has served in leadership positions in both higher education and government, Dr. Inboden has a long history at UT Austin, previously holding positions such as the executive director of the Clements Center for National Security, co-director of The University of Texas System National Security Network, and a faculty member in the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Before academia, he held several foreign policy positions with the US Government, including service on the National Security Council at the White House. 

He received his A.B. in History with Honors from Stanford University and his M.A., M.Phil, and Ph.D. in History from Yale University. Dr. Inboden has authored numerous books, articles and chapters on diplomatic history, religion and foreign policy, the American presidency, and national security. His research and teaching have been recognized with several honors, including selection as a “Texas 10” by the Texas Exes. 

Ken Joyce is a semiconductor industry assembly, packaging, and test veteran. He currently serves as an independent executive advisor to Brewer Science, Inc., a global provider of materials science solutions to the microelectronics industry. In 2022 he was appointed an inaugural member of the Industrial Advisory Committee created by the CHIPS Act to advise the federal government on microelectronics. He is also a Board Member of Arieca, Inc., an Advanced Materials Start-up. Previously, Ken spent 15 years with Amkor Technology, Inc., a leading OSAT provider of semiconductor packaging design, assembly, packaging, and test services where he held senior management positions including, CFO, COO, and President and CEO. During his tenure at Amkor, he led his team in forming J-Devices, Inc, Japan’s largest OSAT company. Throughout his career, he has served on the Board of Directors of a number of Public, Private and Not-For-Profit organizations, including the Global Semiconductor Alliance, “GSA.” He has been designated a Board Leadership Fellow by the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Major General (ret) Jeannie Leavitt currently serves as a Distinguished National Security Fellow at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas. Her Air Force career spans more than 31 years and includes serving as Chief of Safety for the Air Force and Space Force, where she developed, directed, and evaluated all aviation, ground, weapons, space and system mishap prevention and nuclear surety. She also developed and directed all risk management courses for the Air Force and Space Force.

In addition to commanding the Air Force Safety Center, General Leavitt also commanded Air Force Recruiting Service, the 57th Wing and the 4th Fighter Wing. She held a variety of other positions, including Director of Operations and Communications for Air Education and Training Command, Principal Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Fellow, detailed to the Central Intelligence Agency. She is an experienced command pilot with more than 3,000 hours, including 300+ hours in combat. She is a graduate and former F-15E instructor pilot at the United States Air Force Weapons School.

General Leavitt earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University. Additional graduate degrees she earned include a Master of Business Administration from Auburn University, a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from Air University, and a Master of National Security Strategy from the National War College, National Defense University. General Leavitt is also a member of the Engineering Advisory Board at the Cockrell School of Engineering, the University of Texas at Austin, and a principal at Pallas Advisors.

Dr. Babak Sabi is the former Senior Vice President at Intel Corporation (retired). From 2009 to 2023 Babak was Senior Vice President and the General Manager of Assembly & Test Technology Development (ATTD) at Intel Corporation. Babak was responsible for the company’s packaging, assembly, and test process technology development.

Babak joined Intel in 1984. Prior to leading ATTD, he oversaw Intel’s Corporate Quality Network from 2002 to 2009 where he led product reliability, customer satisfaction and quality business practices.

Babak received his Ph.D. in solid state electronics from Ohio State University in 1984. He has authored ten papers on reliability physics and has received five Intel Achievement Awards. He currently holds two patents.

John Schreck is the former Senior Vice President (retired) of DRAM Engineering at Micron Technology and served as TIE CEO from December 2022 through January 2025. In his role as SVP of DRAM Engineering, Mr. Schreck was responsible for Micron’s international team of design and product engineering with responsibilities including new technology development and high bandwidth memory (HBM) engineering. Mr. Schreck serves on the University of Texas at Austin’s Chandra Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering External Advisory Board and the Cockrell School of Engineering Advisory Board. He is also a member of the Chandra Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni. He holds a bachelor’s in electrical and electronics engineering from UT Austin and a master’s in electrical and electronics engineering from Rice University.