by Robert L. Donofrio, Director, Metropolitan Detroit Chapter
SID's newest chapter, Latin America, held its inaugural meeting on September 26, 2005, in Campinas, Brazil, with more than 183 attendees from 21 Ibero-American countries. These 21 Spanish and Portuguese speaking counties – which include all of South America, Central America, and Mexico – have united to hold their annual display conferences together. During the week from September 26 to 30, 2005, three conferences took place: InfoDisplay XII, Brazil Display II, and Display Escola VII. The conferences were organized by Dr. Alaide Mammana, Director of SID Latin America, whose showed great skill in bringing together representatives of the 21 Ibero-America member countries.
The conference started with keynote addresses presented by the Brazilian Ministers for Science, Technology, and Trade. The chapter was given an official welcome to SID by its secretary, Dr. Munisamy Anandan, and David Eccles, Director of its San Diego chapter. The conference's seminars included topics such as "LED and OLED Backlights for LCDs" by Dr. Anandan, and "LCD Monitor System Design" by David Eccles. Research-and-development presentations were given by researchers from South America, Cuba, Mexico, and Europe. In addition, "hands-on" laboratory sessions allowed participants to help make their own LC panels.
Speaking with local media, Anandan and Eccles explained that the significance of having a Latin American SID chapter was that it provided easy access to all the latest display developments worldwide to those in the region working in the display industry. Latin American display professionals now can use the seminars and technical papers available through SID to advance research in their fields, rather than having to work through all the research issues themselves. Advances in technology are important to the future economic success for all of Latin America, and collaboration with SID members worldwide will help those in the display field in that region make rapid progress in both research and manufacturing.
The Ibero-America chapter's officers are located in Campinas, Brazil, which will serve as its initial headquarters and probably will be the location for upcoming conferences.
Acknowlegment
We would like to thank David Eccles for his extensive input to this column.
Left to right: Dr. Munisamy Anandan, SID Secretary; Dr. Alaide Mammana, Ministry of Science and Technology, CenPRA, Brazil, Conference Organizer, SID Latin America Director; Antonio Januario Junqueira, SID LA Chapter Chair; and David Eccles, SID Director, San Diego chapter.
David E. Mentley (1951–2006)
David E. Mentley, ceramic scientist and pioneer in market analysis for the display industry, passed away at the age of 54 after a long battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Barbara and two teenage sons. David received his B.S. degree in ceramic science from Alfred University in 1973 and his M.S. degree in materials science from the University of California Berkeley in 1976. He started his career at Texas Instruments where he was involved in the design and production of glass-to-metal sealed packages for electronic components. In 1976, he joined AVX Materials where he developed new thick-film materials for the hybrid microelectronics industry, including high conductors and insulators for high-reliability circuits and solar cells. I first met David in 1976 when he developed the industry's most reliable glass-sealing material for liquid-crystal-display manufacturing.
In 1979, David joined Kylex, an Exxon Enterprise company, where he developed packaging materials for LCDs. He left Kylex to return to graduate school and in 1981 earned an MBA degree in marketing from the University of California Berkeley. After receiving his MBA, David Mentley joined the EPID Division of Exxon Enterprises as product marketing manager. He researched and developed the marketing requirements for electrophoretic displays in microcomputer applications.
In the early 1980s, when electronic component market research was in its infancy, David Mentley was one of the first to recognize the need for detailed studies of the market for the emerging flat-panel-display industry. As one of the first executives of Stanford Resources, which he joined in 1984, he authored or co-authored the first market research reports on flat-panel displays, enabling enterprises throughout the world to design their plans for development and manufacturing, which has led to the industry's growth and maturity. Later, he managed and participated in the publication of numerous syndicated reports on various aspects of the display industry as well as custom studies that helped many companies secure financing during their start-up phase. He pioneered the development and refinement of computerized manufacturing cost models for all types of displays; display manufacturers throughout the world have used his models. In performing primary research, he traveled around the world touring manufacturing plants and visiting developers to obtain information on how the market would evolve. His forecasts were proven through the years to be valid and in some cases were within 95% of the actual value, 5 years after his forecast was made.
In addition to his work with Stanford Resources and its successor, the iSuppli Corporation, David Mentley, a SID member since 1984, was also a tireless contributor to the efforts of SID to educate its members. He presented numerous seminars at local chapter meetings and international symposia. In addition, he worked on the Display of the Year Awards committee and was a past publications chair. David Mentley was also a contributor to USDC's annual investors conference where he presented the display-industry market overview. Almost until the time of his passing, David was working on plans for SID business conferences to be held this year.
In his long career in the display industry, David has been engineer, market researcher, analyst, consultant, guru, pundit, and a voice of reason in a complex and often hyped industry. Widely quoted in the trade and business press, he delivered dozens of presentations and seminars on the display industry and display-technology trends. Most recently, he was the author of the Display Technology Investor, a Forbes publication that presented his views on what trends and companies are and will be important for an individual investor.
As a friend and colleague of David for nearly 30 years, I am greatly saddened by his passing. I am sure he will be greatly missed, but never forgotten by those of us who had the privilege to know and collaborate with him through the years.
– Joseph A. Castellano