The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) announced Keren Bergman and Tomás Palacios as recipients of the 2026 University Research Awards for semiconductor research. Bergman will receive the award for Design, and Palacios the award for Technology.
SIA and SRC present the awards annually to professors who demonstrate excellence in advancing research in semiconductor technology and design. SIA said the U.S. semiconductor industry spent more than $76 billion on research and development in 2025, as global competitors increased their research investments.
Bergman is the Columbia University Charles Batchelor Professor of Electrical Engineering and scientific director of the Center for Integrated Science and Engineering. She is being recognized for work in optical interconnect networks and photonic-enabled architectures that have advanced communication and computing systems. Since 2023, she has directed the Center for Ubiquitous Connectivity, one of seven innovation centers under SRC’s JUMP 2.0 initiative.
Palacios is the MIT Clarence J. LeBel Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and directs MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories and Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies. He is being recognized for research on wide-bandgap electronic devices and two-dimensional materials, connecting materials science, physics, and engineering to advance micro- and nano systems. Since 2023, he has been assistant director of the Center for Superior Energy-efficient Materials and Devices, a JUMP 2.0 innovation center.
SIA president and CEO Michael Robbins said the professors’ work demonstrates what universities and industry can achieve together, and called sustained federal investment in semiconductor research a national priority. SRC president and CEO Todd Younkin said their work connects fundamental discoveries with system-scale impact, including technologies for next-generation AI, data centers, and edge intelligence.
Bergman and Palacios will receive the awards at the SIA Awards Dinner on Nov. 19, 2026, in San Jose, CA.
