Dr. Kevin Speer holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) from the University of Arkansas, and as a NASA Research Fellow, he earned a Master of Science in engineering and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, both from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He is the Technology Director for the SiC Power business unit at Microchip Technology. Kevin joined Microchip in 2020, and he has participated in strategic planning, new product development, and advanced R&D.  Since 1999 Dr. Speer has published a range of SiC research spanning materials science to applications, including crystal growth, defect-related device degradation, SiC MOSFET and diode device design and processing, and advanced power packaging. He has held strategic technical marketing roles with SemiSouth Laboratories, Infineon, and Littelfuse. Prior to joining Microchip, Dr. Speer founded Speer Semiconductor, a business aimed at empowering stakeholders across the value chain through product development and road-mapping, customer outreach, strategy and investment diligence, and market analysis. Dr. Speer currently lives in Bentonville, AR, with his wife and three children.