University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

The UCLA Samueli School of Engineering will use anticipated funding to establish the Center for Education of Microchip Designers (CEMiD) to provide comprehensive training in analog and digital chip design to engineering students and practicing engineers. Along with co-PIs at Carnegie Mellon University, University of Hawaii, University of Notre Dame, and Stanford University, the program will equip hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students at universities across the country with the skills to design, fabricate, and test their own chips. The program will also help participants foster industry connections to create a self-sustaining workforce development ecosystem in the U.S. microchip industry. CEMiD plans to train professors at universities and colleges nationwide to help expand the reach and impact of the program.  

NSTC Workforce Partner Alliance Program (WFPA)

This anticipated award is through the NSTC WFPA. On September 25, 2024, Natcast announced more than $11 million in anticipated awards to 7 institutions supporting efforts to develop the semiconductor workforce ecosystem across more than a dozen U.S. states.

The anticipated awards support established programs with a track record of success seeking to scale; growing programs seeking to expand or realign; and new programs that meet a previously unaddressed need, opportunity, or theory of change.

These projects are projected to support more than 11,000 individuals entering or advancing careers in the semiconductor industry and will address critical U.S. job and skill gaps across semiconductor design, manufacturing, and production.

Visit natcast.org to Learn More About the 2024 WFPA Awardees.

About the National Semiconductor Technology Center

Natcast is a purpose-built, non-profit entity created to operate the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), established by the CHIPS and Science Act of the U.S. government. The NSTC is a public-private consortium dedicated to semiconductor R&D in the United States. A key component of the CHIPS Act, the NSTC will convene the U.S. government, allied and partner nations, and organizations across the semiconductor ecosystem—including academia and businesses of all kinds—to address the most challenging barriers to continued technological progress in the domestic semiconductor industry, including the need for a capable workforce. The NSTC reflects a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the U.S. to drive the pace of innovation, set standards, and re-establish global leadership in semiconductor design and manufacturing.

Read the full press release here.