Today, the U.S. National Science Foundation announced a new partnership with Micron Technology, Inc. and GlobalFoundries (GF) to increase access to equitable education and develop the next generation of a workforce diverse and ready for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. .
Technicians in a clean room at the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Northeast Advanced Technological Education Center learn how to operate equipment used to make semiconductors. Technicians load 300mm Front Opening Universal (FOUP) modules onto a tool in the SUNY Polytechnic Institute semiconductor manufacturing facility. Image credit: Daryl Marshke (courtesy of Franko Bayer/ University of Michigan/Center for Ultrafast Optical Science), Lloyd DeGrane/University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign/Chicago Quantum Exchange
NSF, in collaboration with Micron and GF, will invest in semiconductor workforce development at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) of Hispanics and institutions serving Asian Americans and Native Pacific Islanders nationwide to diversify the semiconductor industry workforce and create strong talent pathways through development initiatives. training and professional reintegration.
“Partnering with industry, government and education leaders to meet the needs of a growing U.S. semiconductor workforce is a critical part of nurturing talent needed to fill key positions in the semiconductor industry,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF deputy director for technology. , Innovation and partnerships. “We look forward to collaborating with our partners to increase access to equitable education, address student programs and professional development for teachers and faculty, and strengthen infrastructure through future funding opportunities.”
“Micron’s investments in US expansion go far beyond just building manufacturing plants. We invest in people and partnerships to expose learners of all backgrounds to opportunities they may not otherwise have had without support,” said April Arnzen, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Micron and President of the Micron Foundation. “We are honored to see initiatives like Micron’s MSI Semiconductor Network that are at the forefront of our industry’s efforts to prepare the semiconductor workforce and research ecosystem to respond to the growing demand for talent, recognized by government leaders in the United States and around the world.
“As an industry, we must work together to collectively address the great need for a strong and diverse pipeline of talented individuals who will be tomorrow’s innovators and leaders in the semiconductor space,” said Pradheepa Raman , Director of Human Resources at GlobalFoundries. “Strong public-private partnerships, like our collaboration with Micron and NSF to support minority-serving institutions, are essential to continuing the work of inspiring and developing the skilled workforce our industry needs to grow.” Today’s announcement is just the latest in a series of NSF programs providing new pathways for individuals of all backgrounds and experiences to gain on-the-job training in technologies critical to long-term competitiveness term of the country.
Last fall, the NSF announced the first investment of $18.8 million in experiential learning for emerging and new technologies, for 27 teams from U.S. higher education institutions, including teams led by MSIs and HBCUs. NSF also unveiled 24 research and education projects with a total investment of $45.6 million – with support from Ericsson, IBM, Intel and Samsung – last September, which are enabling rapid advancements in new technologies of semiconductors and in manufacturing and workforce development.
Today’s partnership also expands on other recent NSF investments to train and build a diverse workforce in semiconductor manufacturing in the United States. Since 2022, NSF has announced a partnership with the Semiconductor Research Corporation, a $10 million funding opportunity with Intel Corporation, and several collaborations with Micron, such as this $10 million funding opportunity.
Source: NSF
Originally published in The European Times.
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