NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing microelectronics technologies (MO, KS)

这一区域创新引擎发展奖将协调、刺激和成熟整个密苏里州-堪萨斯州地区以发展微电子为中心的创新生态系统和劳动力，并在确保美国微电子领域的经济和国家安全方面发挥重要作用。该地区拥有可行的经济基础设施和技术诀窍，从矿产资产开采到微电子元件和系统开发、制造、测试和应用。该区域具有私人和国家投资以及原材料、天然气供应和电子废物回收能力的潜力，进一步支持循环经济和这一生态系统。24个月的预期成果包括：(A)在微电子行业创造6000多个就业机会；(B)劳动力培训和全国协调，以满足2029年前预计需要的额外13万名美国微电子工人；(C)使行业-政府-学术界能够积极决策的协调进程；(D)展示代表性不足和多样化领导的影响；(E)中小型企业初创和扩张，审查可行性计划；以及(F)公共和私营部门资金，以满足美国在岸的微电子生产需求。这一努力将建立一个生态系统，使受使用启发的研究能够转换为两用应用、新一代STEM劳动力，并在所有级别嵌入Deia实践。技术工作将遵循自上而下的方法，从用例和应用程序映射和供需确定，到研究先进的芯片制造、包装、原材料、气体和采矿、资源分配、编译器/固件开发到芯片设计的技术推动因素。在先进制造、材料、采矿和开采方面，应用研究将开发转换方法和工具，促进关键商品的陆上制造和可持续供应。推动材料的工作将包括制定公共政策，鼓励对环境负责的国内从现有和新的工艺流程中回收关键材料。发展奖奖项将授权团队开发可复制的智力基础设施，以推动技术创新，并为亚、中端微电子工业基地创建一个自我维持的生态系统，从而形成强大的劳动力和创新生态系统。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Regional Innovation Engines Development Award will coordinate, stimulate and ripen an innovation ecosystem and workforce across the Missouri-Kansas region centered around advancing microelectronics and playing a meaningful role in ensuring US economic and national security in microelectronics. The region boasts an actionable foundation of economic infrastructure and technical know-how from mineral assets mining to microelectronics components and system development, manufacturing, testing, and applications. The region has the potential for private and State investment and raw material, gas supplies, and electronic waste recycling capacity, further bolstering the circular economy and this ecosystem. The expected outcomes in 24 months include a blueprint for (a) the creation of more than 6000 jobs in the microelectronics industry; (b) workforce training and nationwide coordination to meet the expected additional 130,000 US microelectronics workers needed before 2029; (c) coordination processes that enable dynamic industry-government-academia decision making; (d) demonstration of the impact of underrepresented and diverse leadership; (e) small and medium-sized business startups and expansions with vetted feasibility plans; and, (f) public and private sector funding to meet the US on-shore production needs in microelectronics. This effort will develop an ecosystem enabling use-inspired research for translation to dual-use applications, a next-generation STEM workforce, and embedding DEIA practices at all levels. The technical work will follow a top-down approach from use-case and application mapping and supply-demand determination to research technology enablers for advanced manufacturing of chips, packaging, raw materials, gases and mining, resource allocation, and compiler/firmware development to chip design. In advanced manufacturing, materials, mining, and extraction, the applied research will develop translational methodologies and tools that facilitate the on-shore manufacturing and sustainable supply of critical goods. The materials thrust will encompass public policy development encouraging the environmentally responsible domestic recovery of critical materials from existing and new process streams. The Development Award award will empower the team to develop replicable intellectual infrastructure that drives technical innovation and creates a self-sustaining ecosystem for a sub- and mid-tier microelectronics industrial base that results in a strong workforce and innovation ecosystem.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.