Stony Brook Program Trains Students to Fill Semiconductor Workforce Gap

The United States is racing to rebuild its semiconductor industry, and it may not have enough workers to do it.

A workforce shortage in the semiconductor industry motivated Stony Brook University professor Carlos Colosqui from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Surita Bhatia from the Department of Chemistry to develop an experiential learning program that trains learners from STEM and non-STEM backgrounds. The program opens career pathways in semiconductors and microelectronics for participants. The project also collaborates with the Career Center and the Center for Inclusive Education (CIE) for recrutiment, mentoring and job placements.

"The main goal is to have manufacturing capacity for semiconductors in the United States," Colosqui said. "It became abundantly clear during the COVID-19 pandemic that the United States needs domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity."

Semiconductors are an often-overlooked but essential component of modern technology. They serve as the foundation of both data processing and storage, the "brain" and "memory" of modern computers.

The urgency is tied to the CHIPS and Science Act, which helped catalyze efforts to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The act had bipartisan support to bring manufacturing back to the United States, with New York positioning itself as a semiconductor hub.

The core problem is that jobs are being created faster than workers are being trained.

"According to the industry, about half of the new jobs created by 2030 will not be filled at the current rate at which we graduate engineers and STEM professionals," Colosqui said.

The Experiential Learning Explorations in Advanced Nanomanufacturing (ELEAN) in New York State program, created by Colosqui and Bhatia, challenges the assumption that semiconductor jobs are only accessible to students with traditional STEM backgrounds. ELEAN has three years of support from the NSF Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate. The program offers an Explorer Track (three months to one year) and a Developer Track (one to two years) for diverse groups of learners. The Explorer Track provides introductory, hands-on experience and focuses on awareness and skill exposure.

"The program requires no prior experience in nanofabrication and provides a stipend for students to learn and train," Colosqui said. "The three-month Explorer Track is a great way to experience first-hand advanced nanomanufacturing."

The Developer Track provides more extensive training beyond initial exposure, and the training and work are project-based. Both tracks are designed to create pathways to job placements with current industry partners.

"Some of the companies that have been working with us closely are GlobalFoundries and Wolfspeed," Colosqui said.

The program is shaped by current industry needs and operates through a partnership with Brookhaven National Laboratory, including Workforce Development and Science Education, University Relations and DOE Programs, managed by Aleida Perez, and the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, with Greg Doerk and Oleg Gang coordinating the matching of scientists, trainees and projects.

"Stony Brook University provides a wonderful environment for interdisciplinary research and training, and I am thrilled that we were able to leverage our campus strength in nanomaterials across multiple departments, as well as partnerships with BNL and industry, to initiate this new program," Bhatia said. "Programs like ELEAN help ensure that our activities remain responsive to workforce needs and that our students have the skills needed to contribute to the growing and important sector of nanomanufacturing."

The program is in its initial stage, with about 25 participants per year, but it is designed to grow, become sustainable, and be replicated across New York and nationwide.

"The model is reproducible and scalable," Colosqui said. "This initial effort can become a seed for a larger workforce development ecosystem across SUNY, New York and the nation."

- Angelina Livigni