Engineering students find global microelectronics learning, connection at Nagoya University

This summer, Boise State College of Engineering students traveled to several UPWARDS for the Future campuses for immersive week-long workshops, including one hosted at Nagoya University in Japan.

Four Boise State seniors majoring in materials science and engineering shared their experiences from Nagoya, where they engaged in hands-on research, explored new fabrication techniques and gained valuable exposure to global perspectives in microelectronics. Each emphasized how the program's focus on experiential learning and international collaboration not only deepened their academic understanding, but also helped shape their future career and education goals, reflecting the shared missions of both UPWARDS for the Future and Boise State University.

Experience at Nagoya University

Joe Amoudi shared insights from his experiences in both academic settings and cultural contexts. While at Nagoya, he worked on semiconductor processing experiments and gained valuable hands-on experience in the cleanroom. He emphasized the importance of the exchange in building international connections and exploring potential career opportunities within the industry.

"I not only experienced how research is conducted in another country, but also made connections with Japanese professors, students, and even professionals from Micron Technology," Amoudi said. "That made the academic side of the trip feel directly linked to real industry opportunities. I learned as much from collaborating with students and professors as I did from the lab tools."

Amoudi also shared that this experience reinforced his interest in the semiconductor industry, and that the connections and friendships were a central part of the value of such a trip.

Senior Sydney Herold also spent time at Nagoya University and she noted that the research she conducted there differed from her typical work at Boise State. She highlighted her experiences with fabricating a p-type MOSFET chip, characterizing it with SEM, and exploring other processes. She emphasized that opportunities like this, especially in a cross-cultural setting, allow her to immerse herself in a new culture and learning style, which inspired fresh approaches to her education and future career paths.

"My greatest takeaway is that research feels like a universal language," Herold said. "When you bring together people from different cultures and backgrounds who are passionate about similar research, everyone can contribute to further advancing that research in meaningful ways, regardless of where they come from."

Herold shared that the trip inspired her to shift her academic focus more toward semiconductors. Collaborating with students and professors from around the world gave her access to experiences she had never had before and left a lasting impact on her plans for life after graduation.

Brylee Rubio traveled alongside Herold and Amoudi to Nagoya. Her experience included fabricating a MOSFET chip, as well as learning about plasma science, crystal growth and wide band gap semiconductors.

She stated that thanks to Boise State faculty like Microelectronics Education and Research Center Director Kurtis Cantley, she has been working on microfabrication techniques throughout her education. But this time at Nagoya gave her an opportunity to experience the processes on different equipment, working in labs and tools on a much larger scale.

"The greatest take away for me was seeing how global the semiconductor industry really is," Rubio shared. "She explained that an experience like this "broadens your perspective. Every lab has different strengths, and working internationally shows you new techniques, ideas, and ways of thinking you wouldn't see otherwise."

Rubio has long been interested in continuing her education and career in semiconductors, but she said this trip helped her clarify the specific path she hopes to pursue and opened her to the possibility of graduate school in materials science.

David Whitten, the final Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering student who visited Nagoya University, said the value of this experience broadened his education. The workshop allowed him to explore the hands-on side of semiconductor fabrication processes, a contrast to the computational research he conducts at Boise State.

"The greatest benefit of this experience was making connections and friendships with all of the Japanese students and professors," Whitten said. "Academically, I left very inspired to continue pursuing research in the semiconductor field, and to continue pursuing a career in the field."

These stories highlight the impact of UPWARDS for the Future on Boise State students and underscore the university's growing role in the global research community. Nagoya was only one stop in this international journey, farther south in Japan, other Boise State students joined a workshop at Kyushu University - read more about that experience.

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