Prof. Richard Friend, who has joined CDT's Board as Executive Director of R&D
Cambridge, England,  - Cambridge Display Technology (CDT), today announced that Professor Richard Friend, the Cavendish Professor of Physics at the University of Cambridge, will take up the post of research and development director at CDT, in addition to his role at the university.

Under the terms of the move Professor Friend will be responsible for guiding the direction of commercial research and development of Light Emitting Polymer (LEP) technology. Professor Friend is expected to spend approximately one fifth of his time with the company. Unlike the United States, where academics often move into commercial research, Professor Friend's move is uncommon in the UK.

Friend headed the original research team that invented LEP technology in 1990 that led subsequently to the foundation of CDT in 1992. His team established that Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) could be made from polymers as opposed to traditional semiconductors.

This is not the first time that CDT, the company leading the world in the development of LEPs for commercial use, has broken new ground in building strong ties with Cambridge University. CDT was the first ever commercial organisation to receive financial investment from the University, which is represented on the CDT board by a non-executive director, Joanna Womack, Treasurer of Cambridge University, in addition to Professor Friend.

Danny Chapchal, CEO of Cambridge Display Technology, said,
"To have enticed the world's leading expert on LEPs to Cambridge Display Technology firmly endorses our position as the leading developer of LEP technology".

According to Professor Friend,
"CDT has a unique position within the electronics industry; we have the opportunity to bring a completely new semiconductor technology from inception in the University to commercial reality. The potential for changing the way the world uses semiconductors is immense. My role is to lead CDT in selecting the right way to match our new technology to each of the product areas we have identified".

"This new role will strengthen the links between the University and CDT. Polymer semiconductors are important new science and new technology. What is exciting is that the technology feeds off the science and vice versa. Strong contact between the University and CDT is good for both sides. The University of Cambridge has a very strong tradition of this type of interaction", added Friend.

Since graduating from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1974 with first class honours in theoretical physics, Professor Friend has become recognised as a leading global authority in the electronic and optical properties of polymers and in the fabrication and measurement of polymer semiconductor devices. Friend, age 44, has held the position of Cavendish Professor of Physics since 1995. Just last month, the University celebrated the centenary of the discovery of the electron by J.J. Thomson, a former holder of this Professorship.

About the Technology:
LEP technology utilises the ability of certain plastics to emit light when an electric field is applied across them. This technology will have applications in every case where there is the need to display information, from simple digital displays such as clocks to more complex graphics such as computers and personal organisers. The potential for LEPs is a substantial proportion of the global electronic displays market estimated by analysts Stanford Resources, Inc. at $27 billion currently, and forecast to rise to over $42 billion by the year 2000.