Grant to help Penn State build semiconductor workforce in Pennsylvania

Newswise — UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has awarded $600,000 to Penn State’s Silicon Carbide Innovation Alliance (SCIA) to develop a series of educational courses, workshops, and paid academic and industrial internships focused on workforce development in Pennsylvania for the growing semiconductor industry.  

The SCIA is a coalition of industry leaders, academic institutions and government support led by Joshua Robinson, professor of materials science and engineering, of physics, of chemistry and of engineering science and mechanics at Penn State. The initiative aims to catalyze research and development of semiconductors, like silicon carbide (SiC), a semiconductor material valued for its ability to handle high voltages and temperatures.  

These properties make SiC ideal for use in power electronics, which refers to the technology of processing high voltage and currents to deliver electrical power, and high-performance devices and can enable improved energy conversion and longer-lasting, more reliable systems. Potential applications range from more efficiently delivering electricity from clean energy sources, such as solar and wind, to the next generation of electric vehicles.  

However, the United States is currently not producing enough of the material to meet demand, which is expected to be two to three times higher by 2030. Part of the solution is developing a strong American workforce in SiC research and production, which the ARC grant is designed to address by helping build this workforce in Pennsylvania. 

“The proposed project represents progress toward addressing a regional and national educational need for next generation workers in the semiconductor industry,” Robinson said. “Penn State aims to broaden impact by developing hands-on training in semiconductor characterization that can be developed into online workforce development content accessible to the entire commonwealth of Pennsylvania across all levels of education.” 

The SCIA partnered in applying for the grant with SEDA-Council of Governments in Lewisburg, one of seven Local Development Districts developed in collaboration among local governments, the state of Pennsylvania, federal agencies and ARC to enhance the quality of life and economic advantage for residents and businesses in the 11 central Pennsylvania counties through its vital partnerships and initiatives. In addition, Robinson noted that SCIA worked with a variety of semiconductor industry partners.  

“Our industry partners include HORIBA, onsemi, Morgan Advanced Materials, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Coherent and Malvern Panalytical,” Robinson said. “Each partner will provide guidance and leadership in creating these workforce development assets and have committed cash and other resources to ensure the workshops and courses align with our state-of-the-art educational abilities and facilities.” 

One such facility at Penn State is the Materials Characterization Laboratory (MCL), a laboratory that maintains a broad range of analytical instruments for characterizing the structure, chemistry and composition of materials from the macro to nanoscale. The MCL also conducts educational activities that fit well into the goals of the grant. 

"Each year the MCL supports researchers from more than 45 different academic departments at Penn State,” said Josh Stapleton, MCL director and associate research professor. “Most often we support these researchers by training them to become independent operators of these instruments so that they can advance their research. The MCL specializes in providing training focused on the practical and hands-on skills our students need to be successful in their research.”  

The MCL also facilitates collaborations with industry, featuring an extensive list of enterprise partners including those in the semiconductor industry.   

“Additionally, we already work with more than 85 different companies each year,” Stapleton said. “The combination of knowledge of what industry needs and our decades of experience providing practical characterization training has us well positioned to support the training of Pennsylvania’s new semiconductor workforce.”  

The grant funds were matched with nearly $600,000 in industry cash, as well as a University cash match and in-kind equipment, for a total of more than $1.4 million over three years. Robinson said he envisions this money will enable the SCIA to become a hub for economic development and research innovation in the Appalachian region, primarily by establishing a workforce platform that will attract companies from around the nation and talented corporate and academic researchers and students.  

“This grant is a fantastic initial step for the University’s strategic efforts around building a semiconductor workforce and a win-win for both our region and America,” Robinson said. “The nation gets a strong resource in semiconductor research and development, and Pennsylvania gets a workforce development platform that will further strengthen our region’s talent pool in semiconductor manufacturing.” 

Along with Robinson, co-principal investigators on the project include Suzanne Mohney, professor of materials science and engineering and of electrical engineering, and Max Wetherington, assistant research professor of molecular spectroscopy.  

Editor's note: A version of this press release first appeared on SEDA-COG's website. 

About the Appalachian Region Commission 

The Appalachian Region Commission (ARC) is an economic development partnership agency of the federal government and 13 state governments including Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development partners with ARC to identify and support projects that will build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in the Appalachian counties of Pennsylvania to reach socioeconomic parity with the nation.