Matt Francis - Candidate for IEEE Region 5 Director

Biography

Dr. Matt Francis holds B.S.E.E (‘03), B.S. Physics (’04), M.S.E.E. (’07) and Ph.D. (’09) degrees from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA. He is President/CEO/Founder of Ozark Integrated Circuits, Inc. in Fayetteville, a provider of rugged electronics for aerospace and energy applications, which he founded in 2011.

Dr. Francis is an expert in the design, modeling, and packaging of electronics for extreme environments, having led many projects supporting mil/aero and energy applications with NASA, DARPA, DOE, USAF, NSF and commercial partners. He was Ozark IC’s payload specialist for the International Space Station (2019), coordinating live data collection from an ultraviolet sensor system designed by Ozark IC for a year in low earth orbit.

He lives in Elkins, AR USA with his wife and daughter, and serves as City Council Member (elected terms ‘18-‘20, ‘21-‘24).

IEEE Accomplishments and Activities

(S’99–M’09–SM’16)

Matt has served in a number of volunteer roles within IEEE, including as Section Chair of the Ozark Section (‘16-‘19; R5 Outstanding Small Section ‘17), and as the current East Area Chair for Region 5 (‘19-). Matt’s passions lie with student engagement, entrepreneurship, membership and leadership development. He serves on the MGA Geographical Unit Operations and the IEEE-USA Entrepreneurship Policy and Innovation Committees, and is a co-founder of a local robotics club which engages students from 1^st grade through high school in a unique electronics/programming/ data science curriculum. He was recognized with an Outstanding Individual Achievement Award from R5 in 2017.

In technical activities, he has authored or co-authored over 50 papers and given invited talks in the areas of modeling, simulation electronics design and packaging. He has served as a reviewer to the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Transactions on Electron Devices and Transactions on Circuits and Systems.

Statement

If selected to serve, I will continue to focus on improving our experience for members of all levels; from students to life members. This starts with making the roles of our branch, chapter and section volunteers easier and more productive. The last year has been more different than anyone could have imagined. We have learned to take all of our region business virtual, and support our geo units in making this same transition. This challenging year has created an opportunity to innovate that we can continue to build upon. In the coming years, we will learn how to offer hybrid events (live and virtual) that will allow us to engage a wider audience. With the seismic shifts in many industries in our region, there is a need for quality professional development and support. As a region, we will strive to support everyone from students entering a very different workplace, to experienced members adjusting to changes in their careers and work environments. Our members and volunteers are the key, and supporting them through the Region’s leadership will be our highest priority.