Austin, TX
Samsung Employee Describes Decades of Commitment to the U.S. and Texas
In 2021, Samsung Austin Semiconductor announced the construction of a new semiconductor fabrication facility in Taylor, Texas. The project is the second of its kind in Texas — with the first being in Austin. To a longtime employee such as Rafael Lainez, Director of Manufacturing Engineering at Samsung Austin Semiconductor, the new fabrication plant is the latest indication of Samsung’s longtime commitment to the U.S. For Lainez, much has changed over the years at Samsung. Despite the many changes Lainez has witnessed, however, some things have remained the same: Samsung’s commitment to being a proud U.S. employer and a good neighbor and upstanding corporate citizen of Central Texas and its dedication to serving the local community.
A Samsung Employee Since 1997
In 1997, Rafael Lainez started his career at Samsung at the Austin campus. Lainez recalls that as he drove an hour and a half from his home in San Antonio, he was excited to begin his first day of work and that the environment at Samsung was immediately welcoming. “When I got to the office, I was lucky in the sense that I had friends waiting for me and ready to show me around,” he said.
Rafael Lainez holding a 12-inch wafer at Samsung Austin Semiconductor.
As a skilled engineer who already had valuable experience, Lainez says he was drawn to Samsung because at the time, the company’s operations in Austin were being launched as the biggest and strongest in Texas. The company provided an opportunity for Lainez to work on cutting-edge DRAM memory products with 8-inch wafers, with which he did not have previous experience. The chance to learn something new and be a part of the most advanced technology around was a key point in him joining the Samsung team.
Rafael Lainez examining a wafer using a semiconductor inspection microscope.
“Never a Dull Moment”
In early 1997, construction on the first Samsung Austin Semiconductor fabrication plant was underway. As Lainez recalls, the site was originally a corn field. “Because it was originally farmland, there were absolutely no trees around,” Lainez says. “Samsung planted every single tree on the property!” For Lainez, perhaps the clearest indication of the scale of the operation was the constant construction taking place. He says, “It was impressive — a massive undertaking. I think at one point, Samsung had all the cranes in the city working on our site 24/7.”
At the time, there was a lot of local excitement over Samsung’s investment in a U.S. semiconductor fabrication facility – the first foreign-owned company to build a fab here – and entry into Central Texas. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on March 28, 1996, and featured the University of Texas Longhorn Band and a rodeo. It truly was a big Texas welcome. A lot of time has passed since the first shovel hit dirt, but Lainez has been at Samsung Austin Semiconductor for nearly the entire journey. Over the years, he has remained at the company not only because of the opportunities it has presented him, but also because of the culture Samsung has cultivated.
Lainez started as a Capacitor Module Engineer on the Process Architecture Team before moving to Product Introduction, where he brought memory products from 0.35µm technology to 100nm products to market. Over the years, he’s worked on SRAM, DRAM and Flash memory products, as well as application processors and other products at System LSI. Most recently, he has been involved in Foundry Operations, which includes manufacturing for a wide range of customers. Lainez says that working at Samsung Austin Semiconductor means there is “never a dull moment.” He adds that “Samsung has always been an innovative company, and I’m proud to work for a company that can adapt and respond to the needs of our customers and the marketplace.”
Rafael Lainez leading a meeting at Samsung Austin Semiconductor.
He has also been through the Samsung Leadership Program and had the opportunity to lead new departments on several occasions, which has given him a fuller perspective of his work and Samsung’s uniqueness. These departments include Metrology, Defects, Integration, Materials and Analysis. For as dynamic as his career has been, Lainez believes the most meaningful part of working at Samsung Austin Semiconductor has been the people. About his colleagues, he says, “A lot of them are still here, and I have met people that started out of college, married Samsung teammates and formed families. That is what has made Samsung Austin Semiconductor special to me.”
An Everlasting Bond
Rafael Lainez with a colleague at the Samsung Austin Semiconductor office.
For Lainez and his team, Samsung Austin Semiconductor’s profits exceeding $1 million and turning a profit at a fabrication plant outside of South Korea for the first time was meaningful milestone. However, they were surprised by the reaction they received when they reported the news back to headquarters: how much of that profit had they shared with the local community? To Lainez, this was a defining moment. Recalling the memory now, he says, “It reinforced Samsung’s values and that Samsung cares, not just about operating profits, but also about the well-being of the entire community and everyone associated with the company. And that is a very memorable and proud moment that I will always carry with me.”
AUSTIN, Texas – State and federal agriculture officials said highly pathogenic avian flu has been found in a herd of dairy cows in Texas.
What we know:
Officials said the H5N1 virus was confirmed with laboratory tests in late May after cows at an unspecified farm became sick and milk production dropped. The dairy has since been quarantined and an investigation is underway.
This is the first case of avian flu in a Texas dairy herd this year, officials said.
What they’re saying:
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is confident that pasteurization is effective at inactivating H5N1, and that the commercial, pasteurized milk supply is safe,” officials at the Texas Animal Health Commission said in a statement.
A dairy cow is seen at a farm on June 1, 2026. (Tim Evans/Bloomberg / Getty Images)
Dig deeper:
H5N1 has a high rate of severe disease and death in animals that become infected.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk to the general public from avian flu is low. Some sporadic human infections have been reported around the world since 1997. There have been no known cases of person-to-person spreading of avian flu.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Texas Animal Health Commission, the USDA, the FDA and the CDC.
AUSTIN, Texas — Self-driving cars have become a common sight on Austin streets, but a new Texas law is adding tougher requirements for the companies behind the wheelless vehicles.
Senate Bill 2807 imposes stricter rules on autonomous vehicle companies operating in the state, including state authorization, emergency response plans for law enforcement, and a public portal where residents can verify operators and file safety complaints.
The changes come as Austin continues to track incidents involving autonomous vehicles. The city’s autonomous vehicle dashboard shows 75 incidents in 2026, including a collision, eight near misses, and seven incidents of ignoring police direction.
Attorney Drew Gibbs, a partner at Slingshot Law, said one crash involved a Waymo vehicle.
“There was a T-bone collision. A pretty serious T-bone collision where a Waymo just crashed into the side of my client’s vehicle,” Gibbs said.
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One of the incidents of ignoring police direction happened during the mass shooting on West Sixth Street back in March, when three people died, and 15 others were injured.
Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said autonomous vehicles can struggle in unusual situations.
“It didn’t impede on anything in the moment, but it’s not necessarily uncommon where these vehicles don’t quite know how to deal with these one-off scenarios,” Bullock said.
The new law requires autonomous vehicle companies to be authorized by the state, to provide an emergency response plan for law enforcement, and to participate in a public-facing portal that allows the public to verify operators and submit safety complaints.
Kara Kockelman, a professor of transportation and engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, welcomed the added oversight.
“I’m glad that the state is taking this a bit more seriously now,” she said. “It’s important not to just let others slip in without kind of meeting those basic minimums.”
Bullock said the emergency planning requirement may not make a major difference in fast-moving situations. Asked how impactful it is to have a fully laid out emergency response plan, Bullock said, “These plans are great, but it takes time to work through all of those versus the immediacy of having someone behind the wheel.”
The four autonomous vehicle companies operating in Austin — Waymo, Zoox, AV-Ride, and Tesla — are all state-authorized.
The Texas DMV said an autonomous vehicle company can lose its authorization to operate in Texas if the agency deems the vehicles are operating in a way that endangers public safety.
Waymo was contacted for comment, but had not responded.
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson said Tuesday she will leave the post next month.
What we know:
In a statement, Nelson said her resignation will be effective July 17 but did not provide a reason for the departure.
“It has been an honor to serve the people of Texas in this role,” Nelson said. “My time as Secretary came at an important moment for Texas, and I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish as an agency in under four years.”
Nelson has served in the role since 2023.
Among other things, the Secretary of State oversees elections and business filings in the state and serves as the chief diplomat of Texas.
View of Texas State Senator Jane Nelson, during the 80th Texas Legislature, on the floor of the Senate at the Texas State Capitol, Austin, Texas, January 22, 2007. (John Anderson/The Austin Chronicle / Getty Images)
What they’re saying:
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott described Nelson as extraordinary.
“I am deeply grateful for her long and loyal service and outstanding leadership. She has represented our state with grace and honor across the globe, and Texas is better because of it,” Abbott said. “Cecilia and I wish her all the best in the next chapter of her distinguished career.”
Dig deeper:
According to the Secretary of State’s office, Nelson has presided over seven statewide elections during her tenure with a cumulative 27 million ballots cast and broke a record with more than 3 million active business filers.
Nelson also served three decades in the Texas Senate, where she remains the longest-serving Republican in state history.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Texas Secretary of State’s office.
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