ITHACA, N.Y. -- James C. Morgan, chairman of Applied Materials Inc., will give this academic year's Hatfield address Thursday, Oct. 2, at 4:30 p.m. in the Schwartz Auditorium of Rockefeller Hall. Morgan's company is the world's largest producer of semiconductor equipment -- the systems used to manufacture virtually every new microchip in the world.

Morgan, who holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering (1960) and an MBA (1963) from Cornell, will deliver a talk titled "The Networked, High-Tech Economy: New Systems Require New Thinking." He will speak as the 24th Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education, the highest honor the university bestows on outstanding individuals from the corporate sector, and he will be introduced by Cornell President Jeffrey Lehman. The talk is free and open to the public.

Morgan joined Applied Materials in 1976 and became CEO in 1977, a position he held for more than 25 years. He led the company through such challenges as economic losses due to a tight U.S. economy in the 1970s, two slowdowns in the chip industry, in 1985 and 1996, and the global downturn that began in 2000.

Under his leadership, the company initially was pared down to focus on semiconductor equipment. He then went against the wisdom of the day and entered the Japanese market, meeting that country's stringent quality standards and besting aggressive competitors. The successful strategy allowed Applied Materials to invest in needed research and development and remain competitive. Morgan later co-wrote a book about his experiences, Cracking the Japanese Market: Strategies for Success in the New Global Economy (Free Press, 1991).

In the mid-1980s, Morgan's focus on innovation and the rapid commercialization of new ideas led the company to make and market a multichamber design for chip-making systems. The machines revolutionized the industry and vaulted Applied Materials into the top slot internationally, where it has remained. Today it is a $5 billion company that earns more than 60 percent of its revenues in the Asia market. Morgan was awarded the National Medal of Technology from President Bill Clinton in 1996

for his industry leadership and pioneering vision in global technology. He served on the Commission on U.S.-Pacific Trade and Investment Policy under Clinton in 1996-97. In 2003 he was named vice chairman of the President's Export Council, under George W. Bush. He also served on the National Advisory Committee on Semiconductors, under former President George H.W. Bush.

Under Morgan's leadership, Applied Materials was named among the "100 Best Corporate Citizens," by Business Ethics magazine. Other awards: "50 Best Performers," Business Week ; "The Super 100" and "Biggest Best Companies," Forbes ; "America's Most Admired Companies," "Best Companies for Asians, Blacks and Hispanics" and "100 Best Companies to Work For," Fortune ; "100 Top Companies of the Electronic Economy," Red Herring ; and Shareholder Scoreboard "Honor Roll," The Wall Street Journal.

The Hatfield Fund for Economic Education was established in 1980 by the Continental Group Foundation to honor Robert S. Hatfield, Continental's retiring chairman, president and CEO and Cornell's first Hatfield speaker. The Hatfield Fellows Program is administered by Cornell's president, who each year invites a distinguished business leader to campus to deliver a major address on economic issues of national importance and to meet with students and faculty.