Micron Appoints Deirdre Hanford to Lead Micron Research Labs

BOISE, Idaho, Sept. 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) today announced the appointment of Deirdre Hanford as corporate vice president and president of Micron Research Labs, the company’s flagship long-horizon research institution. She will establish its research infrastructure, operating model and partnerships while defining a research agenda that extends across Micron, academia, government, startups and the broader industry ecosystem.

Micron Research Labs, announced in August 2026, is a global research institution headquartered in Boise, Idaho, and backed by Micron’s planned $10 billion investment over the next decade. As the first dedicated memory research hub of its kind in the U.S., it is connected to Micron’s research and technology footprint across the U.S., Europe, Japan, India, Singapore and Taiwan, with work spanning critical memory process technologies, future memory and compute architectures, advanced packaging and next-generation semiconductor manufacturing. Micron Research Labs builds on Micron’s previously announced U.S. investment plan of more than $250 billion in both manufacturing and R&D, expected to create 90,000 American jobs.

“Micron Research Labs was created to pursue the breakthroughs that will define the future of memory, compute and AI, and Deirdre is uniquely qualified to lead that mission,” said Scott DeBoer, president and chief technology and products officer of Micron Technology. “She combines deep semiconductor industry expertise with a proven ability to build partnerships, inspire collaboration and turn ambitious ideas into lasting impact.”

Hanford brings extensive semiconductor industry experience, ecosystem relationships and public-private collaboration expertise central to Micron Research Labs’ mission. Her appointment, following a comprehensive search, marks the transition of Micron Research Labs from launch toward execution, building on the company’s research momentum and reinforcing Micron’s position at the forefront of long-horizon memory and AI innovation. 

“Micron Research Labs has both scale and long-term commitment,” said Deirdre Hanford, corporate vice president and president of Micron Research Labs. “We look forward to fostering innovation by enabling experienced and next-generation researchers whose ideas will shape future technologies and markets.” 

Hanford most recently advised leading organizations across semiconductors, electronic design automation, national defense and AI. She previously led a national effort to strengthen U.S. semiconductor research and workforce development. Her career spans semiconductor innovation, secure microelectronics, public-private research strategy and industry partnerships. She spent 37 years at Synopsys, where she helped scale the company into a global leader in electronic design automation and semiconductor design intellectual property. Her roles there included chief security officer, co-general manager of the Design Group and executive vice president of customer engagement.

She previously served on the board of directors of Cirrus Logic and currently serves on the UC Berkeley College of Engineering Advisory Board, the MIT School of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council and the SEMI Board of Industry Leaders. She received the 2025 IEEE Frederik Philips Award for visionary leadership in electronic design automation for secure and energy-efficient microelectronics.

Hanford will advance Micron Research Labs’ research charter, pursuing foundational technologies and scientific questions that extend well beyond today’s product roadmaps. As a member of DeBoer’s Innovation, Technology and Products leadership team, she will connect that research to priorities across Micron while deepening collaborations with universities, research institutions and technology partners worldwide.

About Micron Technology, Inc.

Micron Technology, Inc. is a global leader in semiconductor memory and storage, powering AI and compute-intensive applications from cloud to edge. With a relentless focus on our customers, technology and product leadership, and manufacturing and operational excellence, Micron’s comprehensive portfolio of high-performance DRAM, NAND and NOR solutions deliver the speed, efficiency, and scale today’s workloads demand, accelerating intelligence to enrich life for all. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), visit micron.com.

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