As far as contribution to a regional partnership, Craig Arnold, vice dean for innovation and Susan Dod Brown Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University, touts Princeton’s diversity of semiconductor-related strengths.
“Princeton University has an incredibly diverse and deep community in the area of semiconductors covering different materials, different processing methods, etc.,” Arnold said. “In addition, we have a 15,000-square foot cleanroom with a corresponding packaging lab and a soft materials processing lab. Within our facility, we have a number of companies that work with us, and we have close ties to the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, a Department of Energy national lab that focuses on Plasma processing in semiconductor manufacturing.“
While Princeton, like Penn State, boasts manifold strengths in semiconductor research, Princeton is anticipating a regional partnership will have many benefits for all partners, and beyond. “Given the scale and diversity of the semiconductor industry, it is critical that universities collaborate,” Barry Rand, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, said. “Without such collaborations, researchers would not be exposed to the breadth, reach, and scope of the semiconductor ecosystem.”
Similar thinking, Rand said, goes for partnerships with industry, especially for a key aspect of the CHIPS and Science Act, workforce development.
“Additionally, such partnerships bring considerable value to academic research, as industrial researchers understand the critical problems that require urgent solutions,” Rand said. “These problems will thus lead to the greatest impact for society and generate a well-trained workforce. I think an ideal hub would include a combination of industry, government, and academia. Colleges and universities would play the key roles of workforce training and advanced research and development.”