SEMI has named Sunny Stalnaker of ASML as the recipient of the 2025 SEMI Sales and Marketing Excellence Award. The 23rd recipient of the Bob-Graham-inspired accolade, Stalnaker will be honored for her role in facilitating the landmark 2012 extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) Customer Co-Investment Program. The program united ASML, TSMC, Intel, and Samsung in orchestrating funding for the commercialization of the technology. The award will be presented during SEMICON Korea 2025, which is taking place from February 19-21 at COEX in Seoul.
After decades of shrinking transistors, ultraviolet lasers could no longer print circuit patterns fine enough to satisfy the needs of the semiconductor industry. To achieve finer circuits and maintain the integrity of Moore’s Law, EUV lithography became the most viable option. Stalnaker’s central role in bringing together direct competitors made the Customer Co-Investment Program possible. Without her efforts, EUV development would have likely stalled, preventing smarter, cheaper, and more efficient consumer electronics.
Ajit Manocha, SEMI President and CEO, commented: “Sunny Stalnaker’s contributions to industrializing EUV lithography extended Moore’s Law and helped to continue the global semiconductor industry’s legacy of enabling the technological advances our world depends on. SEMI and its membership are honored to recognize Stalnaker for her exceptional leadership and tenacious pursuit of innovation during a pivotal time in our industry’s history.”
The SEMI Sales and Marketing Excellence Award was inspired by the late Bob Graham, a respected sales and marketing leader who was a member of the founding team of Intel. Graham also helped establish industry-leading companies such as Applied Materials and Novellus Systems (now Lam Research). The award was developed to honor individuals for the creation and/or implementation of marketing programs that enhance customer satisfaction and further the growth of the semiconductor equipment and materials industry.
This year marks the return of the award following a six-year hiatus brought on by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Eligible candidates are nominated by their industry peers and selected after due diligence by the SEMI Sales and Marketing Excellence Award Committee. Recent recipients of the award include Mitsunobu Koshiba (2019), Luc Van den hove (2018), and Toshio Maruyama (2017).
