March 28, 2006...You'll already be in Vancouver anyway, attending CS Mantech April 24-27, so make plans now to intensify your visit to Canada by attending our CompoundSemi Vision 2006 forum for industry executives on Thursday, April 27th, from 1-6p, followed by an evening reception event. If you look closely at the agendas of the two co-located events [direct link to Mantech's agenda - direct link to CS Vision agenda] you'll see that we've planned it so that Mantech's closing sessions on Thursday morning segue perfectly into CS Vision's Thursday afternoon topics, with wide bandgap (WBG) materials and device strategy taking center stage.

I heartily recommend that the marketing people staffing the exhibits at Mantech be sure to extend their stay in Vancouver in order to collaborate with the industry executives attending CS Vision, the consummate "insiders meet". Marketing and sales people are sure to benefit tremendously by intensifying their vision of where the CS and SSL industries are truly headed... which is what Vision in Vancouver is all about. And I also heartily recommend that the executives planning on attending CS Vision make their plans to get to Vancouver earlier in the week so that they can visit the Mantech exhibits as well as attend some of the technical sessions. Mantech organizers have planned a repeat and expansion of last year’s successful and popular Exhibitors’ Forum which will take place on Tuesday April 25th from 1:30p to 3:20p (immediately following the Exhibits Luncheon), where exhibitors get to present their latest technologies and offerings in an especially informal and relaxed environment. TriQuint's Marty Brophy has put together an excellent lineup of exhibitors for Mantech. Take a look at the list of which companies will be exhibiting!

Speaking of TriQuint... (for a little "who's typically involved in this thing" framing history) TriQuint has always been one a prime supporter of our annual executive forum meets, known to many as the original CS Outlook events. At CS Outlook for 2005 Tom Cordner, who heads TriQuint Texas, served as co-chair (along with Bernd Schulte, COO of Aixtron) and at CS Outlook for 2004, TriQuint's CEO, Ralph Quincy chaired the event with David Reamer, who was then with Veeco.

Speaking of Veeco... they'll be again helping sponsor this very special half-day executive forum as our initial Diamond sponsor. Thanks Veeco! We really appreciate your continued support. There are still slots open for sponsorship of CS Vision, including the modest "Gold" level, which is a great way to show support for the co-location move that we've made for this event. Industry supporters can take a quick look at our CS Vision Promotion page and then sign-up online. For additional details on any aspect of the event, contact our president, Tom Griffiths. Tom can be reached in Austin at +1 512-257-9888 or by emailing him at 2006info@CompoundSemiVision.com. The team has put together an especially strong, intensive agenda for CS Vision.

CS Vision in Vancouver will kick off the way we've started past CS Outlook forums... with a supply and demand market update, which will be provided by Asif Anwar of Strategy Analytics. Then getting right into it, Robert Walker president and CEO of eLite Optoelectronics will present his current assessment of the LED industry impact on the compounds. Hailing originally as the head of Emcore's marketing and GM of their Pacific Rim operation before joining Vincera Ventures, as well as heading up Strategies Unlimited's Asian LED market studies, Bob Walker is unsurpassed in his leadership position in the advanced LED field and Solid State Lighting (SSL) industry and especially his knowledge of Asia. Bob Walker is again co-chair of our annual Solid State Lighting Suppliers Forum (SSLS 2006) in Taiwan in May. By the way, Bob's doing a great job at the helm of eLite now, a young company that has strong roots with both Emcore and AXT.

Speaking of AXT & Emcore (and Cree)... as those of you who read the updates of my model CS stock portfolio know, AXT is representative of the publicly traded companies that, like TriQuint, is finally enjoying a resurgence in their stock price. Whereas the overall gain in the portfolio is 60%, AXT's stock has gone risen from $1.08 to $3.50/share and TriQuint's stock has risen from a low of $2.88 to their current $5 range. Speaking at CS Vision for AXT will be co-founder of the company, Morris Young. Stars of the model CS stock portfolio continue to be Emcore and Cree. Emcore's stock has risen from a low of $2.70 to what the $10 range, which coincidentally is what it was assessed at back in the mid 1990s when it went for its IPO. Cree's stock has put in the best showing of all, moving from a low of $20.68 to today's $33 range. Those four companies worth have moved beyond the 60% gain range, which, by any Wall Street standards is considered amazing and tremendous news! Emcore's Ivan Eliashevich, who directs the EMD efforts and oversees Emcore's role in GELcore with GE, will provide CS Vision attendees with the why's of Emcore's success and vision, while Cree's Primit Parikh will provide insight on Cree's strategy regarding GaN-based electronics.

Speaking of GaN, and the WBGs in general... two other speaker/leaders at CS Vision are keenly focused on the future of these amazing wide bandgap materials and devices. The two are: Kyma co-founder Drew Hanser, who serves that amazing gallium nitride (GaN) native substrate company as CTO and VP of Business Development, and John Blevins of the USA's Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Sensor Materials Branch. I'm firmly convinced that the remarkable pickup in the CS industry, and continued strength of the SSL industry, can be directly traced to the growing popularity of the wide bangap semiconductors, and GaN in particular. Come to CS Vision as see if you don't agree. If you were at our CS Outlook for 2005, you'll remember that Kyma's CEO Keith Evans (who was then still with Crystal IS) presided over a memorable WBG workshop. Keith got his start in this field at AFRL, and has been one of the major shakers/movers of Mantech. See how this all weaves together?

See how it all weaves together? Join us in Vancouver the last week in April and make it all work for you by taking an active part in CS Mantech and CS Vision. You can't believe where you might be headed next by meeting with and mixing with your fellow shakers and movers.

Register now for CS Vision and make your hotel reservations for the Hotel Vancouver for Wednesday and Thursday nights to extend your stay at Mantech to also attend Vision in Vancouver.