CHIPS Act
Workforce Development Programming

TechConnect aims to raise student and educator awareness from all backgrounds - community college, undergraduate, and graduate - across all regions about the semiconductor industry and associated career opportunities, in light of the $52 billion dollar investment by the US government in the CHIPS act. There will be various programs for students and educators to explore career pathways and opportunities related to expansion of a domestic semiconductor workforce to operate the new and expanded facilities as determined as critical to meeting the goals of the CHIPS Incentives program.

Applications are now closed.

Panel on Registered Apprenticeships

Moderated by Robert Weinman, NIICA

The panel discussion will dive deep into how Registered Apprenticeships serve as a bridge between academic preparation and industry needs, providing students with the skills necessary to thrive in high-demand fields. Panelists include leading educators in the community college system, industry experts and employers from Wolfspeed and Micron, and students who will share their direct experiences and the professional growth they've achieved through their apprenticeship journeys.

As a U.S. Department of Labor designated Intermediary, the National Institute for Industry and Career Advancement is at the forefront of integrating educational programs with industry requirements to expand the nation’s talent pipeline in key industry sectors. This session will also highlight how the Institute’s initiatives, such as the Growing Apprenticeships in Nanotechnology and Semiconductors (GAINS) program and Gateway to Apprenticeship Program (GAP), are creating scalable, sustainable pathways into critical tech sectors, thereby ensuring that the next generation of workers is diverse, well-trained, and fully equipped to advance technological innovation and economic growth.

This program is supported by PMI, Princeton University.

Confirmed Panelists

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Sponsored by:

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Back to Top ↑ Sessions
	Monday June 17
10:00	CHIPS Workforce Development and Student Leaders Conference Internal Welcome and Networking (SLC Participants Only)
10:30	CHIPS Workforce Development Program: Tutorial on the Semiconductor Industry
1:30	CHIPS Workforce Development Program: Career Panel for Community College/Technical College Students and Educators
2:30	CHIPS Workforce Development Program: Career Panel for Four Year Undergraduates/Graduate Students and Educators
3:30	CHIPS Workforce Development Program: Registered Apprenticeships
	Tuesday June 18
9:00	CHIPS R&D - SmartFab
10:30	CHIPS R&D - Metrology
12:00	CHIPS Workforce Development Program Career Awareness Fair (12:00 - 6:00)
4:00	CHIPS R&D - Posters
4:00	Student Leaders Poster Session
	Wednesday June 19
9:00	XR for Semiconductor Workforce Development and Training
11:00	CHIPS Workforce Development Symposium and Student Leaders Conference Closing Remarks and Summary Discussion (SLC Participants Only)
Program
	Monday June 17
10:00	CHIPS Workforce Development and Student Leaders Conference Internal Welcome and Networking (SLC Participants Only)	National Harbor 12
	Session chair: Maria Fernanda Campa, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, US
	Panelist B. Brough, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, US
	Panelist J. Ashcroft, Micro Nano Technology Education Center, US
	Panelist D. Yablon, TechConnect World Innovation Conference, US
10:30	CHIPS Workforce Development Program: Tutorial on the Semiconductor Industry	National Harbor 12
	Introductory Remarks, Congressman Jake Auchincloss - MA
	D. Weinstein, OSTP, The White House, US
	S. Roberts, City University of New York, US
	L. Folks, University of Arizona, US
	A. Michelin, SUNY Poly/NY CREATES, US
	J. Ellington, Wolfspeed, US
1:30	CHIPS Workforce Development Program: Career Panel for Community College/Technical College Students and Educators	National Harbor 12
	Session chair: Quinn Spadola, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, US
	Introductory Remarks V.C. Carter, National Science Foundation, US
	Panelist B. Harrop, Princeton University, US
	Panelist T. Pennell, Cornell University, US
	Panelist T. McCaughey, GlobalFoundries, US
	Panelist A. Denmon, Santa Monica College, US
	Panelist M. Murdock, Intel Corp., US
2:30	CHIPS Workforce Development Program: Career Panel for Four Year Undergraduates/Graduate Students and Educators	National Harbor 12
	Session chair: Alex Norman, Princeton University, US
	Panelist D. Schmidt, IBM Research, US
	Panelist C. Cramer, Highline College, US
	Panelist J. Ellington, Wolfspeed, US
	Panelist J. Rush-Byers, Micron, US
	Panelist M. Murdock, Intel Corp., US
3:30	CHIPS Workforce Development Program: Registered Apprenticeships	National Harbor 12
	Session chair: Robert Weinman, NIICA, US
	Panelist S. Newton-Klitz, Micron, US
	Panelist J. Ellington, Wolfspeed, US
	Panelist K. McDaniel, Indium Corporation, IMT Apprenticeship, US
	Panelist T. McCaughey, GlobalFoundries
	Tuesday June 18
9:00	CHIPS R&D - SmartFab	National Harbor 12
	Session chair: Daniel Schmidt, IBM, US
	DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers Support of the Chips and Science Act J. Nelson, Sandia National Laboratories, US
	SmartFab Data and Analytics - Challenges and Opportunities R. Baseman, IBM, US
	From Lab to Fab: AI-Powered Metrology for High-Volume Manufacturing M.Y.-H. Kim, Gauss Labs Inc., US
	Collaborative and Holistic AI driven process control software platform to accelerate IC Manufacturing J. Foucher, S. Martinez, H. Ozdoba, J. Baderot, A. Hallal, M. Jacob, S. Garrais, POLLEN Metrology Inc., US
10:30	CHIPS R&D - Metrology	National Harbor 12
	Session chair: Alex Norman, Princeton University, US
	The Last Light Source C. Anderson, xLight, Inc., US
	Advanced plasma diagnostics for materials synthesis and processing applications Y. Raitses, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, US
	Characterizing Thermal Properties and Temperature-rise of High Frequency RF Transistors In-Operando at sub-50 nm Length Scales B.M. Foley, T. Bates, P.E. Hopkins, J.T. Gaskins, Laser Thermal Inc., US
	Scaling Chiplet Integration Through Advances in Printed Interconnects N. Frick, M. Fisher and C. Contreras Sepulveda, North Carolina State University, US
	Dendritic Identifiers as Digital Triggers in Microelectronics Manufacturing M.N. Kozicki, J. Joseph, Arizona State University and Densec ID, LLC, US
12:00	CHIPS Workforce Development Program Career Awareness Fair (12:00 - 6:00)	Expo Hall BC
	Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
	Intel
	Micron
	Wolfspeed
	IBM
	National Institute for Innovation and Technology (NIIT)
	MNT-EC
	Texas Instruments
	University of Arizona
4:00	CHIPS R&D - Posters	Expo Hall BC
	Advances in Thermal Metrology of Thin Films via Steady-State Thermoreflectance J.T. Gaskins, B.F. Foley, D.H. Olson, J.L. Braun, P.E. Hopkins, Laser Thermal, US
	High-performance, power efficient storage device, on a base of NVDIMM for embedded systems I. Sharovar, Truememorytechnology LLC, US
	Fabrication of Epsilon-near-zero Metamaterial with Anomalous Refraction A. Enriquez, M. Meretska, F. Capasso, Harvard University, US
	Rugged SiC Device & Power Module Technology for Reliable Power Electronics A. Morgan, NoMIS Power, US
4:00	Student Leaders Poster Session	Expo Hall BC
	Polymeric layer-by-layer microcapsules containing iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles exposed to breast cancer cells: A viability study using tetrazolium-based (MTT) and calcein-AM assays M. Ashcroft, R. Swift, N. Habibi, Micro Nano Technology Education Center, US
	Understanding Electronic Properties of Gold and Streptavidin-Conjugated Gold Nanoparticles for Use in Photothermal Cancer Medicine T. Nguyen, T.L. Sung, W.L. Yu, A. Ashcroft, M. Ashcroft, J. Ashcroft, Pasadena City College, US
	Exploring the Performance of Convolutional Neural Networks for mRNA cancer vaccine 5’ UTR Design A. Yan, Mercer County Community College, US
	Student Created AI-powered Digital Twin for Semiconductor Workforce Training I. Jha, A. Ashcroft, D. Kelley, J. Zhu, A. Rodriguez, A. Dong, F. Chen, K. Hong, G. Codina, Micro Nano Technology Education Center, US
	Enhancing Microfabrication Education and Industry Readiness Leveraging the University of New Mexico’s Manufacturing Training and Technology Center Cleanroom Infrastructure M.W. Pleil, N. Jackson, University of New Mexico, US
	Photonics Programs at Stonehill College: Bridging Education and Industry G. Gu, C. Schnitzer, R. Adams, J. Evora, V. Taylor, N. Vu, J. Wong, Stonehill College, US
	Recyclable Nanocomposite Conductive Wire C. Fitton-Gillen, A. Rivera, C. Pazmino-Izquierdo, C. Li, Hudson County Community College, US
	Generative AI-based Personalized Semiconductor Education using Extended Reality S. Salehi, P. Satam, E. Azimi, R. Straight, A. Salado, The University of Arizona, US
	SemImmerse: Smart Immersive Training Ecosystem for Semiconductor Manufacturing E. Azimi, R. Lan, C. Wang, K. A. Knudson, T. Peterson, Z. Mutlu, University of Arizona, US
	Surface smoothing of diamond by isotropic plasma atomic layer etching L. Stockl, C.M. Lewis, M. Huerta, N. Moldovan, R. Divan, S. Miller, L. Stan, A. Sumant, Rowan University, US
	Designing a Sample Holder for Improved Instrument Sensitivity K. Lewis, D. Nimlos, S. Cushing, Pasadena City College, US
	Synthesis of a novel hydrazone-based compound applied as a fluorescence turn-on chemosensor for iron (III) and a colorimetric sensor for copper (II) with antimicrobial, DFT and molecular docking studies. A. Adams, A.R. Sharmin, A.M. Patwary, E.G. William, K.M. Royhana, M.M. Mahmud, M.A. Haque, J. Uddin, and K. Morshin, Coppin State University, US
	Determining Optimal Base Dose with Electron Beam Lithography K. Ohashi, Caltech/Pasadena City College, US
	*STUDENT POSTER AWARDEE* Copper-bearing hydrotalcite minerals as precursors for photocatalytic supported plasmonic nanoparticles J. Cabezas Parra, E.R. Newmeyer, J. North, M. Hershey, D.F. Swearer, Northwestern University, US
	Wednesday June 19
9:00	XR for Semiconductor Workforce Development and Training	National Harbor 12
	Session chair: Jared Ashcroft, Pasadena City College, US
	Co-designing Generative AI-powered Immersive Learning Experiences for Workforce Training R. Jha, C. Johnson, SimInsights Inc, US
	Student Centered Undergraduate Research Experiences in Creating Virtual Digital Twin Cleanroom J. Ashcroft, I. Jha, A. Ashcroft, D. Kelley, J. Zhu, A. Rodriguez, A. Dong, F. Chen, K. Hong, G. Codina, Pasadena City College, US
	How to overcome Reality's semiconductor self-identification, training and up-skilling challenges J. Spyres, Training All People, Inc (Tap3d), US
	AR/VR Experiences - Demonstration of Providers
11:00	CHIPS Workforce Development Symposium and Student Leaders Conference Closing Remarks and Summary Discussion (SLC Participants Only)	National Harbor 12
	Session chair: Maria Fernanda Campa, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, US
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