Daily News Briefs

Molecular Imprints Inc. (MII) an Austin, Texas, manufacturer of step and flash imprint lithography technology, has completed an exclusive licensing agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to use the university's moire fringe alignment technology in MII's nano imprint lithography tools. MII said it will use the technology for high-resolution alignment in advanced lithography applications. MII has demonstrated 7-nm 3-sigma alignment with this technique on an MII tool. MIT professor Hank Smith led the effort to develop this technology and will be part of the ongoing development efforts. . . . James Truchard, CEO of National Instruments, was among distinguished graduates honored at University of Texas at Austin’s College of Engineering fall commencement ceremonies last week. Truchard, who received his PhD in electrical engineering in 1974, co-founded National Instruments in 1976, developing pioneering virtual instrumentation software and hardware used for measurement and automation applications. The company grew from a three-man team to a global organization with more than 3100 employees and has been recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the 100 best companies to work for in America for the past five years. Truchard was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in 2003.