Improving Access and Outcomes for Students in Semiconductors and Solar Energy

这项授予亚利桑那州立大学的国家科学基金会研究生教育创新(IGE)奖旨在改革半导体制造领域的研究生教育。该项目旨在解决与半导体制造相关的研究生教育中概念的复杂性和相互关联性，这要求学生整合和应用跨许多学科的信息。随着芯片和科学法案的通过，这一IGE奖项恰逢其时，该法案为半导体行业提供了超过520亿美元的直接支持，以重振美国的本土制造业。半导体制造业的扩张需要将现有的半导体劳动力增加近一倍。然而，各种挑战对实现这一目标构成了重大障碍，包括与其他领域相比，半导体相关研究生项目的招生人数有限。此外，该领域在职业道路方面的能见度较低，实践教学设施的资本设备成本较高，以及半导体劳动力缺乏多样性，进一步加剧了将半导体劳动力翻一番的挑战。为了应对这些挑战，亚利桑那州立大学的IGE项目将打造研究生教育的新领域，将创新的虚拟学习方法与实际动手体验相结合。通过与行业和政府合作伙伴合作开发的虚拟半导体生产线，学生将全面了解制造过程及其多学科性质。此外，为期一周的在实际制造环境中的实践经验将使学生掌握宝贵的知识，并提供对半导体领域不同职业道路的洞察。该项目成功的一个重要因素是致力于促进包容性和促进多样性。该项目将通过专门的利益相关者/学生日促进学生和行业之间的联系，为学生和行业专业人士之间的有意义的互动提供一个平台。通过赋予学生权力并加强他们的机构，该计划旨在培养一个多元化和包容性的社区。亚利桑那州立大学IGE将基于虚拟试验线，为半导体相关领域的研究生开发一项证书计划，重点关注半导体生产线中复杂步骤之间的相互作用，以及成本、可靠性、产量、供应变化、可持续性、外部性和输入参数变化等因素的影响如何改变制造序列的相互作用和结果。教育方案结构和组成部分通过课程项目、正式培训组成部分以及包含和鼓励其他观点的方案结构，整合了可持续发展的概念。该计划将整合不同行业领域半导体领域的多个利益相关者的观点和目标，包括与行业、政府机构和其他受影响的社区(包括那些受到其生命周期影响的社区)的密切合作。最后，IGE计划将通过增加获得必要技能和教育的机会，通过整合和强调计划参与者中的不同观点，包括行业参与者和IGE领导力，以及通过计划组成部分来创建包容文化，从而增加半导体领域历史上代表性不足的群体的流水线和留住。研究生教育创新(IGE)计划专注于研究生教育研究。IGE的目标是试验、测试和验证研究生教育的创新方法，并产生将这些方法推广到更广泛社区所需的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This National Science Foundation Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) award to Arizona State University aims to revolutionize graduate education in the field of semiconductor manufacturing. This project seeks to address the complexity and interconnectedness of concepts in graduate education associated with semiconductor manufacturing, which requires students to integrate and apply information across many disciplines. This IGE award is timely with the passage of the Chips and Science Act, which provides over $52 billion in direct support to the semiconductor industry to revitalize onshore manufacturing in the US. The expansion of semiconductor manufacturing will require an almost doubling of the existing semiconductor workforce. However, various challenges pose significant barriers to achieving this goal, including the limited enrollment of students in semiconductor-related graduate programs compared to other fields. Moreover, the poor visibility of the field in terms of career paths, the high capital equipment costs of hands-on teaching facilities, and the lack of diversity in the semiconductor workforce further compound the challenge of doubling the semiconductor workforce. In response to these challenges, ASU’s IGE project will forge new frontiers in graduate education, combining innovative virtual learning approaches with practical hands-on experiences. Through a virtual semiconductor manufacturing line, developed in partnership with industry and government partners, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the manufacturing process and its multidisciplinary nature. Additionally, a one-week hands-on experience in an actual manufacturing environment will equip students with valuable knowledge, offering insights into diverse career pathways within the semiconductor field. Integral to the project's success is its commitment to fostering inclusion and promoting diversity. The project will facilitate connections between students and industry through a dedicated Stakeholder/Student Day, providing a platform for meaningful interactions between students and industry professionals. By empowering students and enhancing their agency, the program aims to cultivate a diverse and inclusive community. The ASU IGE will develop a certificate program for graduate students in semiconductor-related fields based on the virtual pilot line that focuses on the interaction among complex steps in a semiconductor manufacturing line and how the influence of factors such as cost, reliability, yield, changes in supply, sustainability, externalities, and changes in input parameters changes the interactions and outcomes of a manufacturing sequence. The educational program structure and components integrate sustainability concepts, via course projects, formal training components, and the inclusion of a program structure that includes and encourages additional viewpoints. The program will integrate multiple stakeholder viewpoints and goals in semiconductors in various industry segments, including close collaboration with industry, government agencies, and other affected communities, including those impacted by its life-cycle impacts. Finally, the IGE program will increase the pipeline and retention of historically underrepresented groups in semiconductor-based fields by increasing access to necessary skills and education; by integrating and emphasizing diverse viewpoints in program participants, including industry participants and IGE leadership; and by program components to create a culture of inclusion.The Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) program is focused on research in graduate education. The goals of IGE are to pilot, test and validate innovative approaches to graduate education and to generate the knowledge required to move these approaches into the broader community.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.