Semiconductor | Innovation and Partnerships – Virginia Tech
As companies around the world launch plans to onshore semiconductor chip production, a new challenge is quickly being revealed—a national shortage of labor skilled in semiconductor technology.
Virginia Tech is stepping up to fill the talent and research pipeline by preparing students through a pioneering new Chips-Scale Integration program, infusing industry-inspired learning in the classroom and propelling use-inspired research.
PERSPECTIVES
“The Chips Act has sparked excitement about the US and its’ attractiveness as the next major investment region for the global semiconductor industry. Throughout the entire industry ecosystem, firms are making strategic decisions about where and how to expand their operations. While the nation is watching where the large fabs will land, we should remember that there are many other critical players in the industry value chain that will also in parallel be evaluating where to locate their own operations. In my 30 years in the industry, I can attest to the critical role access to talent and research partners will play in that decision making process. With a legacy of excellence and a nationally-ranked ECE program, Virginia Tech should be a go-to partner for companies moving forward."
Kevin Crofton ’85, Board Member and Chairman, Executive Committee, SEMI
Through a NSF grant awarded in 2016, Virginia Tech has taken bold action to redesign elements of electrical and computer engineering program. The NSF-supported curriculum aims to transform the traditional engineering education curriculum model and emphasizes design and innovation approaches. The Chip-Scale Integration program is one of 14 specialized majors in electrical engineering and computer engineering that resulted from the National Science Foundation’s ambitious Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (RED) grant. The major was built for students who are seeking to harness innovative advances in integrated digital and analog electronics to add greater functionality, improve performance, minimize power consumption and expand applications.
Virginia Tech’s top-ranked computer engineering program is known for providing hands-on opportunities for students via internships, a legacy of world-class research and its team-based, multidisciplinary approach. ECE stands as the largest program in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering.
#4
in the U.S. for producing most undergrads in computer engineering
top-10
research enterprise with over $60M/year in expenditures
120+
ECE interdisciplinary faculty and researchers
30
IEEE fellows, 22 NSF Career Awardees, 4 DOD YIP Awardees – ECE faculty
top-10
institution for undergrad degrees awarded to women in engineering
~ 450
ECE degrees conferred annually
The Chips-Scale Integration major caters to students who are seeking to harness advances in integrated digital and analog electronics to add greater functionality, improve performance, minimize power consumption, and expand applications. Students in this transformative program are collaborating across disciplines while learning from faculty and industry experts in manufacturing, chip design, packaging and power, and graduate ready to apply domain expertise in the highly complex field of systems design and integration and everything in between.
To the semiconductor industry, we offer a compelling value proposition that includes:
From integrated circuits, to packaging and design, selected research and faculty highlight the depth and breadth of ECE.
Faculty: Christina DiMarino (ECE), GQ Lu (ECE/MSE), Khai Ngo (ECE)
Expertise: Packaging for revolutionary advances in power electronics used in electric vehicles, aerospace, the electric grid, and defense
systems.
Features: New packaging technologies, materials, and integration strategies are essential to extracting the benefits of advanced
semiconductor devices (e.g., WBG)
Key Challenges:
Faculty: Masoud Agah and Leyla Nazhandal (ECE)
Expertise: Field Portable and Wearable MEMS-enabled systems.
Applications:
Key Challenges:
Faculty: Jeff Walling (ECE)
Expertise: Wideband, adaptive, linear and energy-efficient integrated circuits from mm-Wave to THz
Key Opportunities:
Key Challenges:
Fully digital mm-Wave transmitter from VLSI 2021. Machine learning adaptation will provide opportunities to scale frequency, bandwidth and linearity.
Faculty: Paul Ampadu (ECE) and Leyla Nazhandali (ECE)
Expertise: Lightweight and low-power ICs. Secure and Resilient Network-on-Chip and System-on-Chip. Fault-attack resistant microprocessors.
Key Challenges:
Secure-Resilient AI Chips: Key Challenges
Other
Faculty: Yang (Cindy) Yi (ECE)
Expertise: Design and optimization of AI chips for real-time data analysis, time-series predictions, and dynamic control
Features:
Key Challenges:
Faculty: Dong Ha (ECE)
Expertise: Integrated circuits capable of operating at high temperatures.
Applications:
Key Challenges:
Faculty: Yuhao Zhang and Mantu Hudait (ECE)
Expertise: Power devices and ICs for revolutionary advances in power electronics used in electric vehicles, data centers, the electric grid, and
defense systems.
Features: New semiconductors, e.g., integrated group III-V and group IV, wide-bandgap and ultrawide bandgap materials, drive the power device
and IC innovations.
Key Challenges:
Faculty: Linbo Shao (ECE)
Expertise: Integrated electro-optic and acousto-optic circuits on thin-film lithium niobate, quantum interconnects
Features: New semiconductors, e.g., integrated group III-V and group IV, wide-bandgap and ultrawide bandgap materials, drive the power device
and IC innovations.
Key Opportunities:
Key Challenges:
For the last 40 years, the CPES has partnered with industry and government to radically transform the electronics that are used to power everything from cell phones to electric cars to datacenters. CPES contributions have resulted in technologies that are incorporated in virtually every device including voltage regulators in microprocessors that are in high-end graphics processors, memory devices, telecommunication networks, and all forms of mobile electronics.
With a degree CPE and a major in Chip-Scale Integration, graduates bring depth and and a holistic view of other technical domains to become “T-shaped” professionals.
John Ralston
Associate Director of Business Development, LINK, the Center for Advancing Partnerships
Every day, our faculty work to meet the pressing needs of the semiconductor industry by developing their future workforce and advancing interdisciplinary research, technology and policy. Together, with our partners, we are changing the world.
Virginia Tech offers a full range of ways to engage. Let’s build a comprehensive relationship that helps your company meet its strategic goals.
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