SUNY semiconductor report includes impact on gaming

“Artificial intelligence, electric cars, smart grid, cryptocurrency, internet-of-things, and even gaming cannot exist without the type of research and resulting data capabilities that the semiconductor industry provides,” said F. Shadi Shahedipour-Sandvik, SUNY Provost-in-Charge, who co-drafted the report. “This involves a high-level of [research and development (R&D)] sophistication, and, in order for the U.S. to stay ahead of the competition, higher education must lead innovation and training for our students and the generations to follow, as well as work hand in glove with our emerging manufacturers.”

As the U.S. continues to see supply-chain difficulties in everything from automobiles to cell phones and other electronic devices, the root cause is a severe shortage of semiconductor chips, which are slightly smaller than the size of an eraser. Globally, the demand will increase in years and decades to come, and SUNY and New York State are poised to meet the demand.

During the September meeting of the SUNY board of trustees, Shahedipour-Sandvik led a discussion on strategies for creating a domestic laboratory-to-fabrication ecosystem. That ecosystem accelerates commercialization of smaller-scale chips with higher density for data storage, and quicker speed to production that can happen from building stronger linkages between higher education and the manufacturing industry. The higher-education component involves “innovative and inclusive” technology translation and talent development, SUNY said. 

Report details

In the report, Shahedipour-Sandvik and SUNY colleagues outlined key elements needed to secure the future of the semiconductor for manufacturing in the U.S. — and how SUNY can meet these challenges.

The elements include reducing power and improving efficiency; enabling novel computing approaches; meeting increasing data and communication needs; and ensuring computing-manufacturing security.

Those elements also include training and maintaining a strong workforce as well as providing access for students, researchers, and startups to infrastructure, bridge tools, training, education, and funding, per the SUNY news release.

The SUNY report also says the effort will need the training of many more educated students, particularly in New York, for the growing semiconductor industry. The strategy centers on providing more New Yorkers, “as early as possible,” with access and education in microelectronics and semiconductor manufacturing. 

Key elements include offering pre-college student education to start career and skills-oriented summer academies, workshops, and bootcamps to engage incoming two-year and four-year college students.

They also include providing students with access to design-fab test experiences at the undergraduate level through courses and workshops that allow students to submit their own designs.

In addition, the elements include expanding experiential learning for students in advanced manufacturing, automation, machine learning, data literacy, and data-driven industry solutions; expanding industry internships, fellowships, and co-ops to provide students with expanded mentoring opportunities; and expanding initiatives in student diversity to grow enrollment in microelectronics-degree programs.

Another element involves creating SUNY Microelectronics Workforce and Education Hubs, a system-wide approach to avoid redundant and unsustainable infrastructure.

“The growth potential of the semiconductor industry is boundless, and SUNY has all the tools needed to take it to the next level for New York State — from our state-of-the-art research laboratories at SUNY, to our world class researchers spurring innovation, our strong industry partnerships, and the workforce development pipeline to meet the job demands of the industry — be it community colleges to research universities,” SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras said. “Semiconductors are the source for data storage, and they drive just about everything we use — cell phones, cars, and other electronics. By harnessing the power of private and public partnership, and leveraging our collective resources, SUNY and New York State can be at the forefront of innovating semiconductor R&D, manufacturing, and workforce development, and in turn help solidify the nation’s competitiveness in microelectronics.”