Purdue, SIA, SEMI, SRC and GSA convene international CHIPS summit to focus on U.S. competitiveness in semiconductor R&D and workforce in a global context

Conference to convene key U.S. global allies to seek solutions at scale for new, innovative research efforts and global collaboration in microelectronics and chip ecosystems

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — In partnership with SEMI, Semiconductor Industry Association, Semiconductor Research Corp. and Global Semiconductor Alliance, Purdue University will this spring once again host a CHIPS summit in Washington, D.C., bringing together global allies as well as industry and academic stakeholders to examine wide-ranging solutions at scale to address the future of U.S. innovation in microelectronics and the semiconductor workforce. 

The daylong conference, named CHIPS for America: Execute for Global Success, will focus on U.S. competitiveness in semiconductor R&D and workforce in a global context.

The summit follows multiple academic achievements, global partnerships and industry collaborations announced by Purdue in this transformative era of semiconductors. Purdue continues to forge its international leadership in research, innovation and talent cultivation for the 21st century. 

“We live in perhaps the most exciting time ever in terms of semiconductors and microelectronics,” said Vijay Raghunathan, Purdue’s vice president for global partnerships and programs, co-director of the university’s Semiconductor Degrees Program, and professor in the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “Despite the astounding, mind-boggling success that we’ve had with this technology for the past six decades or more, I think this is, as Purdue President Mung Chiang likes to call it, ‘our silicon moment.’”

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The summit comes just two weeks after South Korea memory chipmaker SK hynix announced plans to construct a $4 billion advanced chip-packaging facility in the Purdue Research Park. The facility, focused on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) technology, would be responsible for advanced chip packaging — the stacking and connecting of multiple chips — to enable dramatically faster data-processing speeds in chips executing artificial intelligence workloads. 

The project is expected to create nearly 1,000 new jobs in the West Lafayette area, with operations slated to begin in 2028.

The company said it selected Indiana due to access to Purdue’s semiconductor talent pipeline and research programs.

Kwak Noh-Jung, president and CEO of SK hynix, will give a keynote address at the summit.

Among the other speakers scheduled to speak at the summit:

• U.S. Sen. Todd Young of Indiana
• Arati Prabhakar, director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and assistant to the president for science and technology
• Ambassador Sripriya Raganathan, chargé d’affaires, Embassy of India to the U.S.
• Alexander Tah-Ray Yui, representative to the U.S., Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office
• Hideaki Fujisawa, economic minister, Embassy of Japan in the U.S.
• The Honorable Ramin Toloui, assistant secretary for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State
• Richard-Duane Chambers, director of policy and integration, CHIPS R&D Office
• Fran Dillard, chief diversity and inclusion officer, Micron
• Raj Jammy, president, U.S. operations, imec
• Ajit Manocha, president and CEO, SEMI
• Susan Margulies, U.S. National Science Foundation, Directorate for Engineering
• John Neuffer, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association
• Huey-Jen Jenny Su, former president, Distinguished Professor of National Cheng Kung University, and chairman of NCKU Research and Development Foundation, Taiwan
• Todd Younkin, president and CEO, Semiconductor Research Corp.

CHIPS and Science Act of 2022

In April 2023, Purdue assembled a leading panel of experts from industry, government and academia for its first national summit in semiconductors. The goal was to develop solutions at scale to address the future of U.S. innovation in microelectronics and the semiconductor workforce.

The summit focused on strategies to execute the vision outlined in the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act. The CHIPS Act aims to strengthen and secure the microchip supply chain, support growth in reshoring semiconductor manufacturing, and enhance research and development in the field. 

The 2024 summit will be the latest in an ever-expanding set of efforts to build the collaborative network that will define the future of semiconductors, nanoelectronics and digital technologies research and development globally.

“We are seeing, in an unprecedented way, the coming together of three crucial ingredients, namely talent, capital and policy, in historic proportions to address challenges in the semiconductor industry in an effort to boost global competitiveness, strengthen national security and bolster economic interests,” Raghunathan said.

Purdue’s Semiconductor Task Force

Last April, Purdue, under the university president’s leadership, reasserted its focus on helping the U.S. regain preeminence in the industry with the launch of the President’s Semiconductor Task Force. The confab, led by Purdue’s chief semiconductor officer Mark Lundstrom, will coordinate and direct Purdue’s efforts toward innovative research and development and industry collaboration.

The task force consists of faculty experts from several areas of Purdue microelectronics, including Raghunathan, who was named last fall as the university’s director of semiconductor education.

Reporting directly to the university president, the chip-centric leadership roles illustrate Purdue’s vision to provide the nation with the necessary semiconductor sector resources into the next decade.

“It is our responsibility as a land-grant university, and as one of the premier public universities in the country, to lead from the front in this national mission of reinvigorating a thriving semiconductor workforce, semiconductor R&D and innovation,” Raghunathan said.

National semiconductor innovation hubs

The first major program funded through the CHIPS Act was for the establishment of eight Microelectronics Commons regional innovation hubs, in which Purdue plays a pivotal role.

Submitted through the Purdue Applied Research Institute, the Indiana-led proposal “Silicon Crossroads” was named as one of eight hubs.

As the leading university in the regional semiconductor hub, Purdue will collaborate with many members of the consortium in the coming years to achieve aspirational goals to reduce reliance on foreign microelectronics, fortify domestic production and strengthen the U.S. talent pool.

“What are the technical ‘moonshots’ that we really want to address as a nation during the next decade and beyond?” Raghunathan said. “This relentless pursuit of excellence will take focus and dedication, but the rewards will have a profound impact on science and society.” 

Purdue’s growing semiconductor innovation ecosystem is one of four key pillars of Purdue Computes, a comprehensive initiative also consisting of positioning the Department of Computer Science as a top 10 national program, becoming a leader in the field of physical artificial intelligence, and advancing quantum science and engineering to create future technologies that enable unparalleled excellence at scale.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.

Writer/Media contact: Wes Mills, wemills@purdue.edu 

Source: Vijay Raghunathan