Cerprobe Gift Provides Fab Equipment, Scholarships, Shade

October 19, 2000

Thanks to several gifts made by Cerprobe, Arizona State University's Polytechnic campus will be able to offer students test equipment for processed silicon wafers, more scholarships and a shady place to eat.<separator></separator>"Because Cerprobe is headquartered in the East Valley, I feel it's important to give to organizations that benefit the families of Cerprobe employees and support the high tech industries out here," said Zane Close, CEO of Cerprobe. "I don't believe that people know all the great things that are happening at ASU's Polytechnic campus, nor the impact that ASU's Polytechnic campus can have on the high tech industrial base in the East Valley. It is a great asset to our local economy."<separator></separator>The donated wafer probing equipment, worth $100,000, will be used in the College of Technology and Applied Science's microeletronics Teaching Factory.<separator></separator> Lakshmi Munukutla, associate dean of the College, sees the test equipment as an invaluable addition to the Teaching Factory. "We will be able to teach students the importance of testing wafers in the semiconductor device fabrication process, how the equipment operates and how to trouble shoot process problems based on the test data generated."<separator></separator>In addition to the equipment, Cerprobe made a gift of $20,000 to establish the Cerprobe Corporation Scholarship Endowment in School of Applied Arts & Sciences, the largest scholarship donation ASU's Polytechnic campus's School of Applied Arts & Sciences has received.<separator></separator> The first scholarship will be awarded in the spring 2001 for the following fall semester. Students in the applied psychology, business administration, elementary education, interdisciplinary studies, multimedia writing and technical communication, or nutrition degree programs can take advantage of the scholarships. Students must meet certain criteria to be considered.<separator></separator> In addition to the scholarship, recipients may be offered a paid summer internship at Cerprobe.<separator></separator> "The scholarships will be a tremendous help in recruiting and retaining quality students in the future," said David Schwalm, dean of School of Applied Arts & Sciences.<separator></separator>And for those shady places to eat -- ASU's Polytechnic campus students will get to enjoy more outdoor eating areas, thanks to the company's gift of 20 aluminum table umbrellas.<separator></separator> Cerprobe is a recognized world leader in design and manufacture of semiconductor test interconnect solutions. The company offers products and integrated systems for wafer and integrated circuit package testing. Cerprobe markets and distributes its products and systems worldwide and operates domestic manufacturing facilities in Arizona, California and Texas, and international manufacturing facilities in France, Scotland, Taiwan and Singapore. Cerprobe has 900 employees worldwide -- approximately 250 work in Arizona.