US workforce development partnership

Formation of Northeast University Semiconductor Network and publication of Dear Colleague Letter reiterate shared commitment to building semiconductor workforce of the future.

Micron Technology has announced the formation of the Northeast University Semiconductor Network, a partnership focused on collectively developing the next generation of the U.S. semiconductor industry’s workforce. The network will drive foundational and emerging research to increase students’ opportunities for experiential learning across the semiconductor ecosystem.

At a press conference in Syracuse, New York, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan joined Micron executives as they revealed the new network, which includes twenty one founding member institutions, and the publication of a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL). The DCL opens two NSF solicitations and follows a previously announced partnership between Micron and NSF to support future workforce development efforts at institutions of higher education, aligned with the strategic vision laid out in the CHIPS and Science Act.

“Alongside government partners, Micron is taking bold action to cultivate and support collaboration between institutions of higher education to develop a diverse and robust STEM talent pipeline – a model that we look forward to advancing in other regions,” said Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra. “By uniting institutions across the Northeast, we can further develop the talent needed to produce leading-edge memory at Micron’s massive scale here in New York. U.S. technology leadership and the future of the American semiconductor industry depend on the development of a diverse, highly skilled workforce that is fully prepared to excel in tomorrow’s STEM careers.”

Combining the reach of traditional and nontraditional pathways into the semiconductor industry, the Northeast University Semiconductor Network will expand and prepare the next generation of talent through a framework centered on collaboration, innovation and problem solving. Micron, in partnership with the network institutions, will champion efforts to modernize and enhance curriculum by sharing industry-backed technical content, expanding experiential learning programs for greater access to cleanrooms and teaching labs, and bolstering research opportunities for students. In all these efforts, the Northeast University Semiconductor Network will work to reach more underrepresented students.

The NSF solicitation is the next step in the partnership between the Micron Foundation and NSF to jointly invest $10 million to fund and develop semiconductor curricula in colleges and universities across the country. ExLENT: Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies supports inclusive experiential learning opportunities designed to give learners the skills needed to succeed in STEM and strengthen the semiconductor workforce, while IUSE: Improving Undergraduate STEM Education supports projects to improve STEM teaching and learning for undergraduate students.

“Now that Central New York has landed the largest investment in U.S. history, it’s all-hands-on-deck to prepare a new generation of workers to fill the tens of thousands of new construction, manufacturing, and innovation jobs that Micron’s $100 billion project will create in Syracuse and across Upstate New York. When I wrote the CHIPS and Science bill, new groundbreaking partnerships like the Northeast University Semiconductor Network, between companies like Micron and university leaders were at the top of my mind to provide the necessary federal investment for training workers for jobs of the future,” said Senator Schumer. “Billions are available because of the legislation I authored for Central community colleges, universities, and state and local partners to train workers of all ages and backgrounds, for the growing semiconductor industry in Central New York. That is why I am proud to bring one of the federal government’s top scientific minds, Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, who is in charge of investing these funds around the country, to CNY to see firsthand how Upstate NY is uniquely suited to bring manufacturing back to America and power the nation’s technological leadership for decades to come.”

“At the core of NSF’s priorities is a commitment to building strong partnerships across government, industry, and academia to create powerful innovation ecosystems across the country,” said NSF Director Dr. Panchanathan. “It is the strength of these collaborations combined with the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act that will lead us to solutions to society’s most pressing issues. I want to thank Leader Schumer for his steadfast support of NSF and our critical mission. Together, our collective impact will continue to create change at speed and scale and fuel exciting discoveries, innovations and jobs for decades to come.”

The founding partners of the Northeast University Semiconductor Network were identified based on their strong collective undergraduate and graduate programs in engineering and other STEM degrees. Spanning seven states, they bring thousands of undergraduate and graduate STEM students, access to teaching labs and cleanrooms, and a strong foundation of collaboration across institutions. The Northeast University Semiconductor Network will bolster programs that connect universities to community colleges and non-traditional pathways with strong diversity programs to increase equitable access to STEM education.

The full list of founding partners of the Northeast University Semiconductor Network is:

• Brown University

• Carnegie Mellon University

• Clarkson University

• Columbia University

• Cornell University (Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island)

• Harvard University

• Hofstra University

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• New York University

• Pennsylvania State University

• Princeton University

• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

• Rochester Institute of Technology

• Syracuse University

• The City University of New York System (CUNY)

• The State University of New York System (SUNY)

• University of Maryland, Baltimore County

• University of Pennsylvania

• University of Rochester

• University of Virginia

• Virginia Tech

These announcements expand on Micron’s commitments in Central New York. In October 2022, the company announced the selection of Clay, New York as the site of a new megafab that will increase the domestic supply of leading-edge memory and create nearly 50,000 New York jobs, including approximately 9,000 'good paying' Micron jobs.