Fourteen University of Dayton faculty and staff in six labs will be part of the Intel-funded Ohio-southwest Alliance on Semiconductors and Integrated Scalable Manufacturing to help develop a workforce for Ohio's semiconductor industry needs.

The University will receive $210,000 during the next three years to lead the materials science and engineering part of the network and develop training modules integrated into UD undergraduate courses. UD will contribute to the alliance's other thematic areas as well, including supporting microelectronics, manufacturing systems, and semiconductor supply chain security and sustainability.

"By being part of this alliance, we can enhance our capability to prepare our students for careers in the semiconductor industry that will be very much a part of Ohio's future," said Guru Subramanyam, a professor in UD's electrical and computer engineering, electro-optics and photonics and bioengineering graduate programs, and UD's lead on the project.

Training modules to be developed for UD students include:

• Introduction to Silicon as part of an Introduction to Materials Science course for all engineering students.
• Semiconductor Device Fabrication Processes as part of an Intro to Nanotechnology course that will  introduce basic semiconductor fabrication processes in a cleanroom.
• Introduction to Thin Films and Thin Film Deposition Systems, which will introduce fabrication of thin films using physical and chemical vapor deposition systems.

UD faculty and staff will come from the electro-optics and photonics, electrical and computer engineering, chemical and materials engineering, civil and environmental engineering and engineering mechanics, and engineering management, systems and technology departments, as well as the University of Dayton Research Institute. UD centers and labs part of the initiative include the Center of Excellence for Thin-Film Research and Surface Engineering, the Nano-Fab Lab; and labs researching interferometry, metrology, silicon nanophotonics, advanced nanomaterials, chemical and materials engineering, environmental chemistry characterization and remediation.

"We share the alliance's commitment to build a world-class semiconductor knowledge base and workforce training ecosystem that will expand and accelerate Ohio’s leadership toward becoming the Silicon Heartland. This multi-disciplinary project not only signals our strengths in the School of Engineering, it also will be a stepping stone for additional investments in collaboration with the University of Dayton Research Institute and UD College of Arts and Sciences," said Gül E. Kremer, UD’s School of Engineering dean.

Anyone interested in learning more about UD's semiconductor research and education should contact David Ashley, UD School of Engineering director of industry relations, at dashley1@udayton.edu.

For interviews, contact Shawn Robinson, associate director of news and communications, at srobinson1@udayton.edu.