Press Releases

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 11, 2003-Novellus Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: NVLS), the productivity and innovation leader in thin film deposition, surface preparation and chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) processes for the global semiconductor industry, today announced the appointment of Chien Chiang as vice president of research and development (R&D). Reporting to Novellus' chief technology officer and executive vice president of integration and advanced development, Wilbert van den Hoek, Dr. Chiang, 50, replaces Bob Havemann, who recently assumed the role of vice president of process integration and applications.

Dr. Chiang joins Novellus after having served almost two decades at Intel Corporation, where he held a variety of increasingly responsible technology research positions. Over the course of his tenure, Dr. Chiang drove the copper and low-k exploration and production transition programs. More recently, he managed Intel's thin film and interconnect research activities for its 90-nm logic process. He last held the position of program manager in the California Technology and Manufacturing (CTM) Pathfinding organization.

At Novellus, Dr. Chiang will leverage his broad materials research background to assess future industry needs and evaluate new technologies that will support these needs. He will work beyond the core research area, seeking additional applications for Novellus' flagship products and uncovering new areas of growth.

"Chien Chiang's lengthy stint at Intel uniquely qualifies him to accelerate Novellus' deployment of new technologies that will enable the production of low-cost and high-productivity semiconductor devices," said van den Hoek. "His background in integrated circuit process technology research-involving complex materials transitions and spanning multiple device generations-will add to our technical depth as we explore new technologies beyond our core areas of deposition, surface preparation and CMP."

Dr. Chiang began his career as a member of the research staff at MIT's center for material sciences. He holds a bachelor of science degree in physics from Taiwan's National Tsing-Hua University, and a Ph.D. in physics from Brandeis University. He has authored more than 80 technical articles and presentations, and holds more than 40 patents. Dr. Chiang has served as a Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) advisor and as a member of International Sematech's Technical Advisory Board in the interconnect area.

About Novellus Systems
Novellus Systems, Inc., an S&P 500 company, manufactures, markets and services advanced deposition, surface preparation and chemical mechanical planarization equipment for today's advanced integrated circuits. The company's products are designed for high-volume production of advanced, leading-edge semiconductor devices at the lowest possible cost. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with subsidiaries throughout the United States as well as in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Ireland, Israel, Italy, India, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, Novellus is a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq stock exchange (Nasdaq: NVLS) and a component of the Nasdaq-100 Index®. Additional information about the company is available on Novellus' home page at www.novellus.com