Speaking of Semiconductors

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves met with UC Santa Barbara students and faculty Wednesday, Nov. 16 to learn about cutting edge semiconductor research and workforce training initiatives happening at the university.

The briefing included a presentation about chip fabrication capabilities at UCSB and highlighted various initiatives, including a new two-week cleanroom training program aimed at students from nearby Santa Barbara City College. The visit also featured a tour of UCSB tech spinoff Transphorm, a global semiconductor company, as an example of a successful public-private partnership transitioning U.S. government funded technology at the university to commercialization and manufacturing.

At the wide-ranging roundtable discussion following the tour, participants from the faculty, the student body and industry provided input and ideas for lowering the barriers to STEM education and supporting small businesses. They also discussed enabling innovation, collaboration between industry and universities, reaching out to populations who typically don’t work in the semiconductor industry, creating a sustainable manufacturing pipeline and promoting worker and community investments. 

Graves was touring as part of outreach on the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, a bipartisan federal bill enacted to invest in semiconductor research and development, build the semiconductor manufacturing sector in the United States and educate and train the workforce expected to propel the industry forward.