First SCALE-Con hosts more than 300 in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — The nation’s capital set the scene Feb. 2 and 3 for the inaugural SCALE-Con, a summit for students, faculty and industry members involved in the leading U.S. program for semiconductor workforce development in defense.

More than 300 attendees — including students and faculty of SCALE’s 36 member universities — gathered at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington for two days of student demonstrations, networking and workshops. SCALE-Con highlighted the gains SCALE

(SCalable Asymmetric Lifecycle Engagement) has made since the program began in 2020 and gave students valuable insight into career building with defense contractors and the federal government.

“For me, the students themselves are the hallmark of everything we do. Seeing their intellectual curiosity and passion to serve their country was inspiring,” said Kerrie Douglas, associate professor of engineering education at Purdue University, which leads the SCALE program. “We are driven to provide them the best opportunities to develop into strong contributors in this essential workforce.”

Douglas and Peter Bermel, the Elmore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue, are SCALE co-directors.

“SCALE is the premier national network specifically aimed at supporting the U.S. defense microelectronics workforce,” Bermel said. “By collaborating across sectors and technical domains while developing an understanding of their needs and values, we have a unique opportunity to connect and serve academia, industry and government simultaneously.”

SCALE’s work has had a tremendous impact, Bermel said, in terms of the number of students participating in educational, research and work experiences; the number of industry and government employers served; and the number of productive exchanges fostered across the ecosystem.

Purdue University leads SCALE, with funding by the Department of Defense. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, in Indiana, manages the program.

SCALE-Con featured displays from students who work in five technical specialty areas: compound semiconductors, heterogeneous integration/advanced packaging, system on chip, radiation hardening and trusted artificial intelligence.

“Seeing employers engage with students in real time highlighted how SCALE mentorship and training connects directly to national needs,” Douglas said. “SCALE-Con helped students recognize that the meaning of their work extends beyond their individual campuses and contributes to a broader national movement to secure the future of U.S. microelectronics.”

Paul Lyons was also among those impressed with what he saw at SCALE-Con. Lyons is the new deputy program manager for the Trusted and Assured Microelectronics Program, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, which oversees SCALE from the Department of Defense side.

“This is really where the next generation is coming from in the microelectronics industry,” he said. “Microelectronics is fundamental to all the critical technologies we need as a department for our warfighting capabilities, and SCALE is a very important effort” of the office.

Lyons also noted SCALE’s consortium advantage, providing its students with connections to other universities and industry partners that will help them build networks during their college careers and beyond. “Down the road, you bump into other SCALE people and have this shared experience … the network is the real value,” he said.