Ron Birkhahn

Ron Birkhahn has worked in the semiconductor industry since 2000. Ron began their career as a Staff Scientist at Emcore, where they developed gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor processes and devices for HEMTs and novel electronic structures. In 2004, they became Operations Manager at APA Enterprises, where they were part of the M&A team for the sale of APA's III-Nitride assets and conducted business development for industry partnerships and government funding. From 2006 to 2010, they were Manager of Advanced Materials at International Rectifier, where they established and managed IR's AlGaN/GaN epitaxial operations facility and directed activities for a $6M USD expansion of the III-Nitride semiconductor foundry. In 2011, they worked as an Engineer at GaN Technology Consulting. Finally, from 2012 to present, they have been the Director of Materials Engineering at Transphorm Inc.

Ron Birkhahn obtained their B.A. in Physics from Wittenberg University between 1988 and 1992. Ron then went on to earn an M.S. in Materials Science from the University of Minnesota between 1992 and 1994. Finally, they completed their Ph.D. in Materials Science Engineering from the University of Cincinnati between 1994 and 2000.