UPWARDS

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Kurtis: One of the top exports of Idaho is semiconductors. And so, you know, obviously, the local and regional economy is incredibly dependent on microelectronics and semiconductors. Our work here at Boise State, not just mine, but many of the faculty who are in this area is incredibly impactful. I think locally and regionally, we have students not just at the bachelor’s level, but also the Ph.D. level who go to work for all these different companies in the region. And obviously with new announcements of new facilities and new fabs being built, that’s going to be – have a huge impact in the future.

So the CHIPS Act is legislation that was passed last year by the federal government to incentivize semiconductors and microelectronics manufacturing in the United States. There was also part of that, the Chips and Science Act, and so there’s a large amount of money that was also dedicated just to general science and engineering research and development funds. But the CHIPS Act specifically was something over $50 billion, I think, that is going toward many different aspects of microelectronics manufacturing in the United States.

This legislation matters a lot to Boise State and a lot of other universities because a large part of it actually is workforce development and education focused. In other words, you know, if you’re going to build a manufacturing fab that’s producing semiconductors and chips, you need to have the workforce that’s competent to do that. Especially if it’s, you know, very advanced technology, much of which has been produced recently more in Taiwan and China than in the United States. So bringing that advanced technology manufacturing back to the United States and having the workforce to support that is is especially important.

Here at Boise State, you know, we have clean room here, the Idaho Micro Fabrication Lab, and lots of other research programs that are focused on semiconductors and microelectronics. So we’re kind of at the ready to support different companies with their workforce development efforts. My research group focuses on what we call neuromorphic computing, which is basically building electronic circuits that learn and process information like the brain. There are a lot of different groups here doing research in new types of semiconductor materials, new types of devices, and also the integrated circuits to build different types of chips. And the CHIPS Act is really beneficial for all of us, you know, not just from the workforce development standpoint, but also from providing research funding standpoint.

Workforce development is critical for all the companies who are doing semiconductor manufacturing, but that workforce includes Ph.D. level folks who are developing the next generation of electronics and electronic circuits. What drives and inspires me is just working with students. I think that’s the reason most of us become faculty. Obviously we’re interested in doing our research and trying to push the envelope, so to speak, right, in terms of what’s possible with technology. But really the day to day is working with students, teaching students and getting them excited about the same kinds of things that you’re excited about, and that is just new discoveries, especially as they relate to semiconductors and microelectronics.

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