Exhibit 99.1

Robert R. Walker Elected to ESI's Board of Directors

    PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 4, 2003--Electro Scientific
Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq:ESIO) announced today that Robert R. Walker
was elected to the company's board of directors. Walker served as the
chief financial officer for Agilent Technologies, Inc., an electronic
instrument company that was spun out of Hewlett Packard Company, from
its inception until December 2001. Before joining Agilent, Walker
spent 25 years with Hewlett Packard in a variety of financial, general
management and administrative positions. Walker is also a director of
Liberate Technologies and a member of the executive committee of the
Financial Executives International.
    "Bob's acceptance and the recent addition of two highly qualified
members, Richard Faubert and Fred Ball, create an extremely strong
board of directors for ESI," said Jon Tompkins, chairman of the board
of directors of ESI. "The breadth and collective industry experience
of each of our board members along with Bob's extensive knowledge of
the electronics industry will guide ESI toward continued growth and
success in its markets."
    "It is with great pleasure that I accept a position on ESI's board
of directors," said Walker. "I admire ESI for their innovative
technology and their ability to deliver this technology to meet
customer productivity requirements."

    About ESI

    ESI, headquartered in Portland, Ore., supplies high-value,
high-technology manufacturing equipment to the global electronics
market. Using its expertise in laser/material interaction, small parts
handling, machine vision and real-time control systems, the company
enables the production of leading-edge products for customers in the
semiconductor, passive component and electronic interconnect markets.
ESI's web site is http://www.esi.com.

    CONTACT: Electro Scientific Industries, Inc.
             Mike Dodson, 503-671-7028