In memoriam of Ronald Reedy, we honor his memory and his contributions to early-stage innovation.
Ronald Reedy was an American businessman, scientist, and researcher who founded and served as the CEO of Skeyeon. In the semiconductor industry, he advanced silicon on sapphire (SOS) and CMOS technology by co-founding Peregrine Semiconductor with Rory Moore and Dr. Mark Burgener.
Reedy began his career at the NOSC (US Naval Ocean Systems Center) where he worked on silicon CMOS processing. In 1988, Reedy along with NOSC colleagues Mark Burgener and Graham Garcia published a research paper in IEEE Electron Device Letters that proved that SOS films thinned to 100 nm were suitable for application to high-performance down-scaled CMOS circuitry. It was with this advancement that Reedy decided to commercialize the technology. Their research findings were instrumental to the industry and have since been cited in 13 IEEE research papers and 58 patents.
In 1990, Reedy co-founded Peregrine Semiconductor with Rory Moore and Dr. Mark Burgener to commercialize the advanced technology. Peregrine became a fabless chip designer that was publicly traded on the NASDAQ until the company was acquired by Murata, Japan’s largest electronics products company. Reedy served as the company’s founding CEO and the company’s CTO before retiring in early 2015. Reedy then held the title of CTO emeritus of Peregrine Semiconductor.
In 2016, Reedy came out of retirement and founded Skeyeon, the first company based on placing a satellite constellation in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) for the earth imaging market. There are numerous benefits to operating in VLEO that are not available in higher altitude LEO and GEO orbits, where most satellites and the International Space Station operate, including inherently higher satellite performance; substantially lower launch and operating costs; and creating self-cleaning orbits essentially solving the significant problem of space debris. Skeyeon has developed technology enabling VLEO operation for many different applications, and is actively developing its first satellites for launch.
Reedy sat on the Council of Advisors for UCSD’s Jacobs School of Engineering and its Gordon Leadership Center, giving back to the community that helped shape him.
Over the course of his career, Reedy was listed as an inventor on dozens of patents. Many of those patents are related to advancements in silicon on insulator, silicon on sapphire and CMOS. In 1969, Reedy graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis with a BSEE. He then earned a MSEE degree from Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. In 1983, he received his Ph.D. in EE & Applied Physics from UC San Diego.
Ron Reedy left behind a legacy of innovation, courage, and loyalty. His impact will live on through the technologies he pioneered, the companies he built, and the people he inspired. We are deeply grateful for Ron’s lasting contributions to our community.
