Matt Francis

Matt Francis, Ph.D., is the founder and President/CEO of Ozark Integrated Circuits, Inc. (Ozark IC) where he leads the development of high-temperature semiconductor computing solutions for energy, defense, aerospace, and space applications. He has been 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 tests for reliability – including their complex supply chains. Ozark IC has designed, manufactured, and demonstrated the widest ranges of semiconductor-based solutions for remote sensing and actuation from -180 to 800oC. Under his leadership, Ozark IC has been recognized as a leader in the rugged computing space, evidenced by wins in the MassChallenge accelerator Gold award (2020), the Army XTech Hypersonic Manufacturing Prize (2nd prize, 2022), and the American Made Geothermal Prizes (Set! and Geophone Prizes, 2021-2023). Dr. Francis earned his BSEE (’03), BS Physics (’04), MSEE (’07) and PhD (’09) degrees from the University of Arkansas. Matt is currently serving as a Governor at Large for Eta Kappa Nu, inducted at the Gamma Phi Chapter. Matt is past-director, IEEE Region 5 (US Southwest).