Matt Francis

Matt Francis, Ph.D. Matt is founder and President/CEO of Ozark Integrated Circuits, Inc. Dr. Francis earned BSEE (’03), BS Physics (’04), MSEE (’07) and PhD (’09) degrees from the University of Arkansas. At Ozark IC, he leads development of high-temperature semiconductor computing solutions for energy, defense, aerospace and space applications, and has served as a remote payload specialist for Ozark IC’s payloads on the International Space Station. Dr. Francis is an expert in the scalable design, manufacturing and assembly of extremely reliable single-board computers, from silicon/silicon carbide semiconductors to advanced packaging, ceramics and test for reliability – including their complex supply chains. Under his leadership Ozark IC has been recognized as a leader in the design and manufacturing of rugged computing devices, evidenced by wins in the MassChallenge accelerator Gold award (2020), the Army XTech Hypersonic Manufacturing Prize (2022) and the American Made Geothermal Prizes (2021-2023) – as well as 35 SBIR Phase I/II programs funded through DoD, DOE, NASA and NSF to date.

Dr. Francis also serves as a Region Director, Elect (Region 5 USA Southwest), as the IEEE-USA representative to the IEEE Industry Engagement Committee, as past chair of the IEEE MGA Chapter Operations Support Committee and is a Council Member for the city of Elkins, AR. Dr. Francis is passionate about entrepreneurship and growing the next generation of scientists and engineers. He is an IEEE STEM Champion, volunteering weekly with his local robotics club. He is an advisor to science-based startups through the Science Venture Studio, and in 2022 he was the recipient of the IEEE-USA Entrepreneurship Spirit Award for the ground breaking work of his company, as well as his service in mentoring small-businesses in the deep-technology space. In 2023, he is serving in multiple roles to help stakeholders engage in the CHIPS+ act, including serving as a founder of SURGEArkansas.org, an organization coordinating stakeholders in the state to respond to CHIPS+ opportunities with support from the AR Dept. of Commerce, as a speaker and panelist for IEEE and other organizations.