Connections at NORDTECH

Build out the microelectronics infrastructure for the future.

In early June I attended the 3rd annual NORDTECH conference, hosted by NYU Tandon School of Engineering near the Brooklyn Bridge.  Being an proud RPI grad, the Brooklyn Bridge has an emotional connection as the construction was overseen by Washington Roebling, an RPI civil engineering grad.


I left impressed by the breadth of the highly talented professors, industry professionals and academics working on strengthening the microelectronics infrastructure in New York state.  There are initiatives for:

  • Developing advanced semiconductor devices, especially mixed signal using interesting substrates
  • Building out large scale manufacturing capabilities
  • Developing the next generation workforce at the undergrad, grad and post doc levels.  They all need funding to attract and nurture our next generation of semiconductor engineers in architecture, design and manufacturing


An emerging area is Quantum Computing - the creation, scaling manufacturing and applications development.  Industry, led by IBM,  is getting closer to building Quantum Computers at scale.  Partnerships with academia which tackle the tough issues of manufacturing and applications development are critical to nurture this emerging industry.  I met with many incredible RPI students in April that are fully embracing the advent of quantum computing.  The talent pipeline for quantum computing is coming.


I look forward to monitoring and reporting out on these NORDTECH initiatives.

RPI Severino Center Innovation Day

By frank • April 28, 2026
Next Generation of Tech Innovation at the RPI Incubator Center

The Thinking Person's Guide to AI

By frank • April 21, 2026
The Challenges AI presents to business and technical professionals
Marketing Messaging

Do You Experience Messaging Pain Points?

By Frank • February 2, 2026
Combating conflicting messaging in your marketing communications channels.

Time to Revenue

By Frank • January 12, 2026
Is your marketing driving leads into and through the sales funnel?

Why Schapfel Tech Marketing Services?

By Frank T. Schapfel • October 29, 2025
Experience. Deliver results in a variety of markets and products. Practical. Common-sense approach to implementing marketing programs. Flexible. You can start small and grow into a comprehensive program as your business grows. Customized. Tailored to your business and marketing goals. Technical and Analytical. Engineering-oriented to bring out high contrast product messaging and positioning.

Why did I start Schapfel Tech Marketing Services?

By Frank T. Schapfel • October 29, 2025
I observed a market need to closely develop technical Marketing Strategies and Integrated Marketing programs, focused on High Tech products and services. Identified a desire by small and medium companies to be highly efficient in developing a marketing strategy once, then delivering it across multiple channels in a consistent manner. Found that small and medium enterprises under-invested in integrated marketing programs that achieves their business mission. Come explore how Schapfel Tech Marketing Services can help you achieve better High-Tech marketing results.

Official launch of the Schapfel Tech Marketing Website:

By Frank T. Schapfel • October 24, 2025
The Mission of Schapfel Tech Marketing Services is to bring Strategic Marketing services to small and medium high-tech enterprises. We deliver fractional CMO services to those firms that desire immediate impact on their business success. Schapfel Tech Marketing Services can parachute in marketing experts to design, deliver and measure your new marketing programs. We customize a marketing plan to achieve your business and revenue mission. We use a structured and analytical approach to bring your technical products or services to market. Through our approach we focus on developing highly differentiated positioning and messaging so that you stand out from the crowd. We can leverage your existing marketing infrastructure and staff to speed up implementation, and augment with external experts that you do not have access to or have not yet integrated into your marketing team.