Approximately 160 of “the brightest minds and subject matter experts in Texas or around the world,” according to Texas A&M Vice President for Research Jack G. Baldauf, attended the National Semiconductor Texas Workshop in College Station on November 8.
Hosted by Texas A&M University, the event was an opportunity for stakeholders in the industry, academia, and government to discuss and learn about the evolution of the semiconductor industry.
Semiconductors, a class of materials used to control the transmission of electric current, are the foundation of electronic devices, such as computers, smartphones, gaming devices, appliances, and medical devices. They are vital in many industries, including automotive, healthcare, communications, and defense.
The workshop promoted ongoing collaboration between business leaders and institutions of higher learning to access funds and designations under the federal government’s CHIPS and Science Act.
The Act, signed into law on August 9, is part of a broader government effort to increase the development and manufacturing of semiconductors in the U.S. CHIPS is short for “Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors.”
John Sharp, the Texas A&M University System Chancellor, shared that collaborations will be the best way to use these funds.
“I want to thank Sen. Cornyn and Rep. McCaul for having the foresight to get this legislation passed — and your task, of course, is to make sure that Texas and the nation benefits from that,” Sharp told Texas A&M Today. “One of the things we’ve known for some time is that once we all can work together, we achieve amazing things.”
Baldauf told Texas A&M Today that the recent CHIPS act will help to establish a foundation for the next generation.
“The CHIPS act represents a substantial commitment by the Biden-Harris administration and Congress to extend leadership to the United States in the semiconductor domain. The key driver for that is national economic security, along with providing the foundation upon which next-generation innovations are built,” Baldauf said.
Following the CHIPS Act, business partnerships across the country invested in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, according to a White House news release.
GlobalFoundries and Qualcomm announced a partnership that put $4.2 billion toward chip manufacturing. Qualcomm also announced that it plans to increase production in America by around 50% over the upcoming five years.
Micron also invested $40 billion in the manufacturing of memory chips, according to the White House press release. This investment will lead to up to 40,000 new jobs across the country.
During the workshop, Katherine Banks, the Texas A&M University President, and John E. Hurtado, interim vice chancellor and the dean of Texas A&M Engineering, discussed the university’s programs in material sciences and other related disciplines.
Banks stated that the university is qualified to train semiconductor innovators of the future.
“As home to one of the largest engineering programs in the country, we graduate highly-qualified engineers with expertise and a knowledge base in this area. We also stand ready to assist by providing workforce training and certificate programs,” Banks said.
The semiconductor industry has already been gaining traction in Texas. In December 2021, Samsung, the largest chip manufacturer in the world, announced that it would build a new $17 billion facility in Taylor, making it the largest foreign investment in Texas on record.
Last February, Texas Instruments announced plans to build four new semiconductor wafer fabrication plants in Sherman. Then in July, GlobiTech announced it would establish a facility in Sherman to produce silicon epitaxy services and products, which are essential components of the semiconductor industry.
In October 2021, Governor Gregg Abbott announced the formation of the National Semiconductors Centers (NSC) Texas Task Force to promote the Lone Star State as the future site of the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) and the National Packaging Manufacturing Program.
Texas A&M University is one of the members of the governor’s NSC Texas Task Force.