UC Davis Joins as Core Member of Regional Semiconductor Workforce Network
The University of California, Davis, has joined as a core member of the Pacific Intermountain Network for Education in Semiconductors, a regional node of the National Network for Microelectronics Education, or NNME, designed to strengthen and scale the semiconductor workforce across the western United States.
Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce and aligned with the CHIPS and Science Act, the NNME serves as a national infrastructure for microelectronics talent development.
The NNME Pacific Intermountain Network for Education in Semiconductors is led by Boise State’s Microelectronics Education and Research Center, or MERC. The node brings together a broad coalition of universities, community colleges, K-12 partners, corporations and government organizations to build a coordinated, industry-aligned talent pipeline across Idaho, Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Hawaii.
“This is a transformative moment in time for the semiconductor industry in Idaho and across the nation,” MERC Director Kurtis Cantley said. “Boise State’s MERC is proud to help lead a regional effort focused on developing the next generation of talent to drive innovation in one of the world’s most advanced and rapidly evolving industries and produce the most advanced technologies in the history of humankind.”
As a core member, UC Davis will help the coalition address critical workforce challenges facing the semiconductor industry, including talent shortages at all levels, fragmented education pathways and limited access to hands-on training opportunities.
The UC Davis team is led by Saif Islam, professor and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who also holds a seat on the regional node’s executive committee.
Islam’s team will expand and update the college’s undergraduate curriculum in integrated circuit fabrication and help develop new graduate-level courses on microelectronic chip design, tape-out and testing. Additionally, his team will spearhead an internship program in collaboration with national labs, industry partners and faculty research groups and organize workshops and bootcamps on semiconductor microelectronics for K-12 students and teachers in the Greater Sacramento area.
The college’s cleanroom, the Center for Nano-MicroManufacturing, or CNM2, will play a significant role in the regional node’s mission to provide hands-on learning activities in semiconductor fabrication.
“Through this massive collaboration, we will be leveraging our premier campus facilities, like CNM2, to train the next generation of semiconductor innovators and educators,” Islam said. “Students and educators from regional California State Universities, community colleges and K-12 schools, alongside partners like Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and leading industry stakeholders, will work with our UC Davis team to build a resilient, skilled workforce in Northern California.”
Under the NNME structure, the SEMI Foundation and National Science Foundation anticipate supporting the Pacific Intermountain Network for Education in Semiconductors, and three other regional nodes, through potential funding opportunities of up to $20 million over five years. These investments are intended to accelerate scalable talent solutions aligned with industry demand and establish a national model for microelectronics education and workforce training.
