Darina Kneafsey
Engineering Manager, Intel

Darina Kneafsey was born into a new generation of industrial professionals in the Ireland of the sixties. This era saw the birth of a new kind of industrial Ireland in a new industrial Europe. A man of that era, her father built up the Irish and European operations of a U.S. multinational, and subsquently became president of that corporation. His generation was the backbone of the new industrial country, people who won Ireland the credibility it now enjoys as the youngest industrial country in Western Europe.

Darina's family background inspired her to study electronic engineering at University College Dublin. Her background also prepared her to balance a healthy social life with the ethic of hard work and ambition. After she graduated with a Bachelor's degree, she joined Digital Equipment Corporation as a product engineer and quickly progressed through to middle management. Darina's early career at Digital gave her the opportunity to blend her own values with that of the open Digital.

Darina joined Intel Ireland in 1993 as manufacturing engineering manager. Her current role is that of engineering manager. Intel was in the process of setting up Europe's first 8 inch semiconductor manufacturing facility - Fab10 - located at Leixlip, Co Kildare. This was a "state-of the-art" facility set up to manufacture the Pentium microprocessor. Darina soon brought her own style to bear in a new and growing operation. Her experience and open style were valued not just by the new management team, but by the many young engineers and scientists gaining their first career experience.

Darina's open style, technical background and capacity to communicate easily with people from all backgrounds made her the obvious choice for setting up and growing the Intel Academic Council. This council is the primary interface to the world of research and academia and is a critical activity for Intel Ireland. The charter of the Academic Council is to invest in both students and institutions in order to develop appropriate links and, through collaboration, influence course curricula. Ultimately, the aim is to provide Intel with the "best and brightest" graduates available. This is a unique program and the Irish Academic Council is viewed as a model within Intel Corporation.