Clarkson University and the Northern California Chapter of the AVS CMP User Group are excited to announce that the
2026 International Symposium on Chemical-Mechanical Planarization (CMP)
will be held in Lake Placid, N.Y., on August 2 – 5, 2026!
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Thomas Caulfield (GlobalFoundries)
Dr. Thomas Caulfield was elected to the board of directors of GlobalFoundries as Executive Chairman in April 2025 and has served as a board member since March 2018. Dr. Caulfield was previously President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GF. He joined GF in May 2014 as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the company’s Fab 8 semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility in Malta, NY. He has an extensive career spanning over 30 years of engineering, executive management and global operational leadership with leading technology companies. Prior to joining GF, Dr. Caulfield served in a range of leadership and management positions at Soraa, Ausra, Novellus Systems, and IBM. During his 17 years at IBM, Dr Caulfield served in a variety of senior leadership roles, ultimately serving as vice president of 300mm semiconductor operations for IBM’s Microelectronics division, leading its wafer fabrication and R&D operations in East Fishkill, NY.
Dr. Caulfield earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics from St. Lawrence University before entering Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, where he earned both his Bachelor and Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering as well as a Doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering. Dr. Caulfield was also a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia’s Engineering Center for Strategic Materials.
Dr. Caulfield’s Keynote will take the form of a “fireside chat” with Dr. Katrina Mikhaylichenko (Chair of the U.S. CMP Users Group) during the Symposium Dinner on Tuesday, August 4.
Plenary Speakers
1. Dr. Yoichi Shiokawa (Ebara Corp.)
General Manager, Process Development Dept., Equipment Div., Precision Machinery Company, EBARA Corp.
2. TBA
Registration
Registration will be open April 2 – July 17, 2026!
Registration rates listed below include symposium attendance, breakfasts and lunches (Monday-Wednesday), receptions on Sunday and Monday, and the symposium dinner (on Tuesday, August 4). Hotel rooms are to be paid separately.
Full Registration: $900
Speaker Registration: $650
ClarksonU Faculty/Staff Registration: $650
Student Registration: $250
The registration refund policy is at the bottom of the page.
Accommodation
CAMP has a block-booking of rooms at the High Peaks Resort in Lake Placid for the duration of the meeting (August 2-5, 2026) at a discount rate of $249/night. This block-booking will be released on July 16, after which there is no guarantee of room or discount rate availability. Attendees are to reserve and pay for rooms directly to the High Peaks Resort. T
To reserve rooms, click the button on the right or call the hotel’s reservations department (+1-800-755-5598) & say you’re booking under “Clarkson University CMP”.
Check-In Time: 4 pm Check-Out Time: 11 am
There are many other hotels to choose from in Lake Placid which can be found via various search engines (e.g., Expedia, Hotels.com, etc.)
To learn more about Lake Placid and the Adirondack Mountain region of New York State, please visit lakeplacid.com or other travel-related websites!
Speakers, Presentations, and Agenda
Oral Presentations
Oral presentations are by invitation only. A list of speakers will be announced at a later date. Topics of the symposium are likely to include:
- Particle and colloidal fundamentals
- Slurry development and metrology
- Pad/conditioning behaviors
- CMP of STI, SiN/ Poly Si, W, Cu, Co, substrate materials (e.g., SiC, Si, GaN, Glass, etc.), alternate thin films (e.g., novel metals, polymers, etc)
- CMP fundamental science and technology
- Defects and post-CMP cleaning
- CMP of III/V metals and new barrier materials
- Low-k films and integration issues
- Micro LEDs/SOI polishing
- Other emerging applications of CMP, including backside CMP
Posters
The goal of the poster session is to provide an opportunity to network, learn about each other’s work and interests, and meet academic and industrial colleagues for future collaborative research. Students are particularly encouraged to present their work during the poster session.
Posters will be presented on Monday, August 3, from approx. 5:30 – 7:00 pm.
Agenda
This agenda is very preliminary and subject to change!
Sunday, August 2:
1 pm onwards: Check-in & registration
5 – 7 pm: Welcome reception
7 pm onwards: dinner (not provided; find some colleagues and a nice Lake Placid restaurant – there’s many to choose from!)
Monday, August 3:
8 am – 12 pm: First plenary talk, invited oral presentations
1 – 1:30 pm: Lunch (provided as part of registration)
1:30 – 4 pm: Open time to network and explore Lake Placid
4 – 5:30 pm: Invited oral presentations
5:30 – 7 pm: Poster session & reception
7 pm onwards: dinner (not provided; find some colleagues and a nice Lake Placid restaurant – there’s many to choose from!)
Tuesday, August 4:
8 am – 12 pm: Second plenary talk, invited oral presentations
1 – 1:30 pm: Lunch (provide as part of registration)
1:30 – 4 pm: Open time to network and explore Lake Placid
4 – 5:30 pm: Invited oral presentations
5:30 – 6:30 pm: Symposium reception
6:30 pm onwards: Symposium dinner (provided) and Keynote Fireside Chat with Dr. Thomas Caulfield (GlobalFoundries) and moderated by Dr. Katrina Mikhaylichenko(U.S. CMP Users Group)
Wednesday, August 5:
8 am – 12 pm: Invited oral presentations
1 – 1:30 pm: Lunch (provided as part of registration)
1:30 pm: Symposium finishes & depart
Travel
The following website has information on how to get to Lake Placid:
(https://www.lakeplacid.com/explore/getting-here)
While there is a small regional airport close by that has flights to/from Logan (Boston) and JKF (New York City) airports, planes are small and can be bumpy.
The closest international airport is Albany NY (the NY State capitol). If you choose to fly into Albany, rent a car and then enjoy the 2.5 hour drive through the picturesque Adirondacks.
Sponsorship
Various levels of sponsorship of the CAMP CMP Symposium are available. Please reach out to CAMP Business Development Director Eric Xu (zxu@clarkson.edu) for more information.
Contact Information
Please contact CAMP Director, Devon Shipp (dshipp@clarkson.edu), CAMP Business Development Director Eric Xu (zxu@clarkson.edu), or CAMP Project Manager Leila Boyea (lboyea@clarkson.edu) if you have questions.
We look forward to seeing you in Lake Placid!
Refund Policy
Full refund of the registration fee is available if request is made to the CAMP office by 11:59 pm (US EST) on July 17, 2026. A 33% registration fee refund is available if request is made from July 17 – 24, 2026. No refund after July 24, 2026. Hotel payments/refunds are only handled between the attendee and the hotel.
Find out more about CAMP at our main website: https://www.clarkson.edu/academics/research/labs-centers/camp
Find out more NYSTAR’s Centers of Advanced Technologies (CATs): https://esd.ny.gov/doing-business-ny/centers-advanced-technology
To learn more about the Northern California Chapter of the American Vacuum Society (NCCAVS) CMP Users Group, visit: https://nccavs-usergroups.avs.org/about_cmpug/
