ATE Regional Center for Semiconductor & Nanotechnology Education

Semiconductor-derivative manufacturing in the northeast U.S is expanding, and this expansion is increasing the demand for a highly qualified technical workforce. The Northeast Advanced Technological Education Center (NEATEC) proposes to support the education and training of technicians for the semiconductor and semiconductor-derivative industries (i.e., those industries based on, or incorporating, substantial Si wafer processing, compound semiconductor wafer processing or Si polycrystalline film processing) as well as the broader nanotech-based manufacturing industries in New York State and Western New England. NEATEC will expand opportunities in support of academic programs as well as targeted outreach to recruit and engage underserved and underrepresented populations. All programs will leverage online compatible learning management systems (e.g., Blackboard) to combine online delivery with hands-on laboratory and/or experiential learning components at NEATEC training and lab facilities. This includes a newly proposed ATE user facility at SUNY Polytechnic Institute which will help promote and sustain NEATEC's education/training content and the 'institutionalization' of that content at 2-year and 4-year colleges. This Center will 1) develop multiple academic certificate programs for technological education for a wide range of semiconductor-derivative industries (e.g., Photovoltaic Manufacturing (PVM), LED Lighting Manufacturing (LEDLM), Power Electronics Manufacturing (PEM), and Integrated Photonics Manufacturing (IPM)); 2) expand commitments from industrial collaborators for skill-standard analyses and experiential learning; 3) expand community college and technical high-school partners, including a new NEATEC/Technical High School partnership for at-risk students to adapt curricula to technical high school programs in Central New York with expansion to technical high schools in MA and CT; and 4) develop new technological education programs for underserved and underrepresented groups- specifically newly separated veterans and international refugee communities (permanent U.S. residents) in central New York State. NEATEC's core academic development team includes Hudson Valley Community College, Erie Community College, Jefferson Community College, Mohawk Valley Community College, Onondaga Community College, and Fulton Montgomery Community College in New York State, and Fairfield University in Connecticut. Industry collaborators include GlobalFoundries, Tokyo Electron, General Electric, SolarCity, Soraa, AIM Photonics, United Technologies Research Center, and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC).