The CHIPS Act and a tightening talent pipeline are prompting U.S. universities and industry to reconfigure engineering education, forging deeper collaborations and new experiential models. Arizona State University’s Secure, Trusted, and Assured Microelectronics Center (STAM) exemplifies this shift, offering interdisciplinary training in secure semiconductor technologies with lectures from industry professionals. Michel Kinsy, STAM’s head, noted, “They were truly running out of domestic students who have a deep understanding of secure national systems,” underscoring the urgency.
Across the country, similar concerns are voiced. Mark Lundstrom of Purdue University observed, “There are announcements that 80-some factories are to be constructed, but our colleagues in the industry tell us that one of their biggest concerns is where the engineers and technicians are going to come from to staff them.” Purdue’s Center for Heterogeneous Integration Research in Packaging (CHIRP), partnered with Georgia Tech, UCLA, and Binghamton University, aims to address advanced packaging expertise, drawing on faculty with deep industry backgrounds.
Interest in hardware engineering has waned over decades, influenced by cultural and technological shifts. Matt Morrison of the University of Notre Dame explained, “Kids get handed cell phones when they’re three years old… When they get their first introduction to hardware… we are trying to overcome 14 or 15 years of disadvantage.” Duncan Brown of Syracuse University highlighted the scale of the challenge: “It wasn’t just the manufacturing that went offshore, but it was also the talent pipeline that went offshore.”
Lundstrom warns that early preparation is critical: “If you don’t have the algebra by the time you’re in seventh grade, it’s unlikely you’re going to get into an engineering program.” Yet awareness is growing, fueled by supply chain headlines. H.-S. Philip Wong of Stanford University remarked, “People realized that the world runs on hardware… You cannot write a software program to emulate toilet paper.” Wong’s small, hands-on fabrication classes have five times more applicants than spaces, supported by Stanford’s ties to TSMC.
UC San Diego’s “collaboratories” blend chemistry, physics, and engineering to create innovations like wearable sensors. Dean Albert Pisano sees value in scaling interdisciplinary collaboration: “The best way to achieve innovation is to provide an ecosystem… so that it is not just academics and students, but industry and government working together.” Stanford’s partnerships with ASU, Purdue, and Ohio State, backed by NSF funding, aim to expand such experiential learning.
Industry partners contribute through digital twins, visiting professors, and outreach to K–12 students. Siemens’ Dora Smith described a shift toward younger engagement: “We’re trying to help students on the pathway into STEM careers.” Cadence’s David Junkin emphasized course-sharing among universities, and celebrated young innovators like twelve-year-old Zeke Wheeler, who used Cadence tools to design an antenna for communicating with the International Space Station.
Expanding the talent pool also means rethinking recruitment. Synopsys offers “returnships” to retrain women re-entering engineering after caregiving breaks. Morrison stresses access for rural and underrepresented communities, noting, “We have to figure out ways to get to the talent and put the tools in their hands.” His “chips-plus” approach connects student passions—like automotive—to semiconductor relevance. Siemens applies a similar strategy through sustainability-focused programs.
Veterans are another underutilized resource. Pisano pointed out, “San Diego is the U.S.’s largest Pacific naval port. 40,000 veterans are generated in San Diego every year.” Programs like SEMI’s Vet S.T.E.P. and the Department of Defense–funded SCALE initiative, led by Purdue, train microelectronics engineers and technicians for defense and industry roles.
The allure of bespoke silicon may be the strongest draw for future engineers. Alan Kay’s maxim, “People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware,” resonates in today’s push for hardware-software integration. Wong likens modern fabrication tools to the soldering irons of past decades, offering tangible, hands-on excitement. Companies are even recruiting computer science juniors, as Lundstrom noted, to show them the performance gains of translating algorithms into hardware. Junkin explained, “Show them that now their app runs not just 10 times faster, but a million times faster, and uses 100th of the power.”
Siemens encourages interns to work across disciplines, preparing them for a future where hardware and software are inseparable. Lundstrom captures the moment’s significance: “By now, you’d think it would be stale and mature, but I can’t remember a time that’s been as exciting or as important for the nation as right now.”