{"id":19738,"date":"2026-02-11T08:04:46","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T13:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?p=19738"},"modified":"2026-02-12T08:46:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:46:54","slug":"purdue-leads-nationwide-initiative-tackling-semiconductor-talent-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/Q1\/purdue-leads-nationwide-initiative-tackling-semiconductor-talent-shortage","title":{"rendered":"Purdue leads nationwide initiative tackling semiconductor talent shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. \u2014 Purdue University\u2019s Chipshub<\/a> is leading the charge to bolster available workforce<\/a> talent for the semiconductor industry by providing free online access to cutting-edge simulation tools used to design chips for educational purposes on the university\u2019s nanoHUB platform. The program is the result of a public-private-academic partnership developed in collaboration with leading industry partners \u2014 including Cadence, Synopsys and Siemens \u2014 as well as federal agencies like the Department of Defense and National Science Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis initiative reduces the cost and time for adoption of electronic design automation (EDA) tools in the classroom and empowers universities across the United States \u2014 particularly nonresearch-intensive institutions \u2014 to train the next generation of semiconductor engineers and technicians,\u201d said Alejandro Strachan, Purdue\u2019s Reilly Professor of Materials Engineering and co-director of nanoHUB\/Chipshub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Universities can now integrate these EDA tools into their curricula without the burdens of procurement, installation or maintenance and enable rapid upskilling in chip design, simulation and verification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSemiconductor innovation is the backbone of modern technology \u2014 from AI and electric vehicles to national security \u2014 but we\u2019re facing a serious shortage of skilled workers by 2030,\u201d Strachan said. \u201cBy making these tools accessible online via Chipshub, we\u2019re removing barriers that have long sidelined smaller institutions. This isn\u2019t just about education; it\u2019s about building a resilient domestic workforce to fuel America\u2019s semiconductor resurgence under the CHIPS and Science Act.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purdue\u2019s nanoHUB, a pioneering cyber platform launched in 2002, has facilitated over a million simulations and served 500,000 users worldwide. This new Chipshub EDA initiative builds on that legacy, aligning with national priorities to onshore semiconductor capabilities and grow the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. semiconductor sector designs 52% of the world\u2019s chips and is experiencing explosive demand driven by AI, 5G and advanced manufacturing. The workforce must expand by 115,000 jobs by 2030, and current projections indicate over 50% of these jobs are at risk of going unfilled, according to a 2023 report<\/a> issued by the Semiconductor Industry Association<\/a>. Traditional barriers to accessing EDA tools \u2014 such as specialized hardware requirements and the need for dedicated IT support \u2014 have affected nonresearch-intensive universities, which educate a significant portion of the nation\u2019s student body but lack the resources of elite research institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new initiative improves efficiency for universities, potentially reducing a large portion of cost. Kerrie Douglas, co-director of Purdue University\u2019s Scalable Asymmetric Lifecycle Engagement (SCALE) program, said the nanoHUB partnership goes beyond a learning concept by offering SCALE students hands-on experience with industry tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur students are being trained with industry standard tools in real-world problems, and this is only possible because of the support we receive through the partnership,\u201d said Heather Orser, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota. St. Thomas is one of 35 institutions in the SCALE consortium\u2019s workforce development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By extending access to over 100 U.S. universities in the first phase, the initiative will reach tens of thousands of students and foster a broader and more inclusive talent pipeline as well as bolster U.S. competitiveness in global supply chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGiving students hands-on experience will positively impact the future workforce,\u201d said David Junkin, academic network program director at Cadence. \u201cWe\u2019re excited to partner with nanoHUB because they\u2019re removing a significant barrier for academia by centralizing the IT infrastructure thereby enabling easy access to industry-grade technology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSynopsys is proud to empower the next generation of semiconductor talent by providing universities with state-of-the-art chip design tools and resources through the common Chipshub platform, thereby quickly bridging the gap between academia and industry,\u201d said Katy Crist, director of workforce development at Synopsys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSiemens Digital Industries Software is proud to partner with Purdue\u2019s Chipshub to provide state-of-the-art software that equips students with industry-ready skills,\u201d said Joanna Pritchard, head of Siemens\u2019 EDA academic engagement. \u201cBy giving learners hands-on access to the same advanced tools used by leading semiconductor companies, this collaboration helps close the skills gap and ensures our customers have access to the highly skilled talent they need to innovate and compete.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Purdue University<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 106,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 57,000 at our main campus locations in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue\u2019s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap \u2014 including its integrated, comprehensive Indianapolis urban expansion; the Mitch Daniels School of Business; Purdue Computes; and the One Health initiative \u2014 at https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/president\/strategic-initiatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n Media contact:<\/strong> Brian Huchel, bhuchel@purdue.edu<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. \u2014 Purdue University\u2019s Chipshub is leading the charge to bolster available workforce talent for the semiconductor industry by providing free online access to cutting-edge simulation tools used to design chips for educational purposes on the university\u2019s nanoHUB<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":19627,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[263],"tags":[],"department":[],"source":[29],"purdue_today_topic":[],"coauthors":[10],"class_list":["post-19738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-purdue-computes","source-purdue-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19738"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19797,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19738\/revisions\/19797"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19738"},{"taxonomy":"department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=19738"},{"taxonomy":"source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/source?post=19738"},{"taxonomy":"purdue_today_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/purdue_today_topic?post=19738"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=19738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}