DOD funds microelectronics program with Purdue, IU
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A microelectronics workforce program involving Hoosier universities will receive $19 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to ramp up research and add new partners.
This is the second time the program, called Scalable Asymmetric Lifecycle Engagement, or SCALE, has received DOD funding, which aims to propel research on radiation-hardened microelectronics and trusted artificial intelligence.
The funds will be dispersed to Purdue University, Indiana University and Vanderbilt University, which will receive $3.8 million, $5 million and $1.6 million, respectively. Purdue is a leader in the public-private-academic partnership, which includes 19 universities and 48 partners.
“Now, more students interested in these technical areas have more opportunities to get involved and develop in-demand skills and experiences,” Peter Bermel, SCALE director and professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue, said in a news release. “And we add these new partner universities while broadening the participation of current partner universities in SCALE.”
The workforce development program is funded by the DOD’s Trusted and Assured Microelectronics program and managed by Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division. The partners often meet to go over research priorities.
Bermel said in the release that this type of research is especially needed as the demand for microelectronics has increased by 26%.
“The expectation from multiple credible studies is there will be major shortages in the microelectronics workforce on a national scale if we do nothing,” he said. “Part of the reason is that fewer U.S. students are going into undergraduate and graduate studies in high-tech areas.”
The new partner universities joining SCALE are Morgan State University, a historically Black college or university in Baltimore; the University of Tulsa; and the Microelectronics Security Training Center, headquartered at the University of Florida.