U.S. DISPLAY CONSORTIUM SECURES $25 MILLION IN NEW ARPA FUNDING

SEMI's Michael Ciesinski to succeed Peter Mills as CEO of consortium

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 16, 1995--The United States Display Consortium
(USDC), a government/industry-backed effort aimed at establishing American
leadership in critical information display technology, announced that it
has received new funding of $25 million from the Advanced Research
Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense.

At the start of "SEMI/USDC Washington Display Days," two days of meetings
with legislators and executives from USDC member companies, it was also
announced that Michael Ciesinski will succeed Peter Mills as chief
executive officer of USDC in mid-April, when Mills' two-year term ends.
Ciesinski is currently vice president and director of North American
operations for Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International
(SEMI).

The announcements were made by Malcolm Thompson, board chairman of USDC and
chief technologist at California's Xerox/Palo Alto Research Center
(PARC).

Mills has held the position of CEO since USDC's inception in 1993, when he
accepted the post for a specified two-year term. Prior to joining the
consortium, he spent four years as chief administrative officer of
SEMATECH, the U.S. semiconductor industry consortium.

"My mission was to see USDC through the difficult start-up phase, and to
make certain that the importance of this technology--critical to America's
defense as well as to its competitiveness in global markets--be clearly
understood in Washington," Mills stated. "The renewal of funding from ARPA
means that USDC's message was heard and that our existing development
programs can come to fruition while we aggressively initiate new
projects." Mills said he is leaving to start a new venture capital
partnership that will invest in early-stage high technology companies.

Ciesinski noted that the $25 million from ARPA assures the consortium of
the equivalent of a $50 million budget for operations and development,
since the member companies have pledged to match the government funding
with their own investment. "While the renewal of ARPA's commitment assures
USDC of continuing to develop display technology at the present pace, the
challenge is to accelerate the effort and, over time, to create a
thriving, self-sufficient U.S. display industry that can succeed in world
markets without government funding," Ciesinski explained.

The Washington event this week includes individual meetings with
Congressional representatives by delegations from their home states or
districts. In addition, the so-called "Display Days" includes a
demonstration of display technology in the U.S. Capitol building.

U.S. Display Consortium is an industry-led, public/private partnership
providing a common platform for flat panel display manufacturers and
developers, FPD users, and the supplier base. Headquartered in San Jose,
Calif., and with over 130 member companies, the consortium's mission is to
develop the U.S infrastructure required to support a world-class U.S.
based manufacturing capability for high-definition displays

Based in Mountain View, Calif, SEMI is an international trade association
serving companies participating in the $23 billion semiconductor and flat
panel display equipment and materials market. SEMI maintains offices in
Austin, Brussels, Moscow, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Boston and Washington,
D.C.

U.S. Display Consortium
50 West San Fernando St, Suite 920
San Jose, CA 95113
408-277-2400,  fax 408-277-2490
Email:  usdc@attmail.com

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