Purdue’s Semiconductor Innovation Ecosystem Grows with CHIPS-funded, Indiana-led Semiconductor Hub and With Upcoming Summit

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Purdue University continues building momentum as America’s leading university in semiconductors, with a broad range of updates this fall semester.

Submitted through the Applied Research Institute, the Indiana-led proposal “Silicon Crossroads” was announced Sept. 20 by the Department of Defense as one of eight Microelectronics Commons Hubs selected out of over 80 proposals across the U.S. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane), in Indiana will manage the program.

The hubs are the first major program funded through the CHIPS and Science Act 2022, co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Todd Young of Indiana. The total five-year budget is around $2 billion; FY23 is year 1 and has a budget of $238 million. The Indiana-led consortium, with participation from Illinois and Michigan, received $33 million as part of the year 1 budget and is the largest hub in the Midwest.

“Located in America’s heartland, Silicon Crossroads builds on the Midwest’s strengths in research and development as well as workforce training at all levels to build a domestic semiconductor industry — a national security imperative to keep our nation ahead of our adversaries,” said Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb.

“As we collectively work to grow the nation’s microelectronics base, Indiana will play a key role in the development of these critical national security technologies and capabilities,” Young said. “More broadly, this announcement shows how the CHIPS and Science Act will connect more of America, including the industrial Midwest, to the innovation economy.”

Indiana leads the Silicon Crossroads Hub, and as its leading university Purdue will collaborate with many members of the consortium in the coming years.

Purdue is also the university leading the Department of Defense workforce program SCALE, with a national consortium of 18 universities. 

Serving the state of Indiana

Purdue is a national leader in microelectronics materials, devices, chip design, tool development, manufacturing, packaging and sustainability, spanning the semiconductor ecosystem in software and hardware with long-standing faculty excellence.

Strategic initiatives in semiconductors, such as the first comprehensive Semiconductor Degrees Program, which was announced before the CHIPS and Science Act passed in 2022, are intended to prepare a next-generation workforce for industry. Economic development and research collaboration followed as well, including from Skywater, MediaTek, and Belgium-based imec.

As part of Purdue Computes initiative, Purdue’s growing semiconductor innovation ecosystem includes $49 million in new facilities and tools for the Birck Nanotechnology Center, which will also be accessible by Ivy Tech, Indiana’s statewide community college and a local partner with Purdue in developing next-level workforce and brain gain strategies for Indiana.

Earlier this month, Purdue announced the creation of Purdue@Crane, a permanent Purdue presence for national security research collaboration with NSWC Crane, including participation in the WestfGate Foundry with companies such as Everspin Technologies and NHanced Semiconductors.