ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A key factor in building a domestic workforce for the chip industry is getting kids to take STEM courses at a young age.
Now, the Rochester Institute of Technology is pushing to empower young adults to get more involved with the cutting-edge industries of semiconductors and microelectronics.
Groups of local high school students visit RIT to see the technology up close. However, they are not just listening in on any other science course, but gaining exposure to a possible multi-billion dollar career.
“It’s critical that we get teenagers to know, hey, number one, this is here in Rochester,” East High School science teacher Paul Conrow said. “And number two, this is a growth industry. This is a cool thing to get into now. And it can be a career that takes you all the way to retirement.”
Following the Chips and Science Act in 2022, roughly $280 billion is being invested in funding to boost domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors in the United States.
“We’re going through a real expansion or a boom right now, and especially in New York state, thanks to the expansion of Micron,” electrical and microelectronic engineering associate professor Parsian Mohseni said. “We’re going to have lots of new, exciting, high-paying career opportunities.”
Peaking the interest for universities like RIT.
“I’ve never considered it before, but now that I am here I’m like it’s very cool,” high school senior Maria Ramos said.
“I want to do more lab stuff because this is fun,” high school junior Kyle Markham said. “This is like almost, not school.”
With an established microelectronic engineering degree program, one of the first in the country, RIT currently has more than 1,500 alumni working in the semiconductor field.
“I want students to be able to see themselves in this community and to realize that they can contribute to a field that has very broad and significant impacts,” Mosheni said.
The global need for more computer chips and a larger semiconductor workforce was most pronounced during the pandemic with supply chain disruptions, however, that challenge still remains today.
“There’s such a challenge to get kids who are interested in math and science in the same class,” Conrow said. “But the fact that RIT has an entire facility on campus. And that’s why we bring them here.”
RIT hopes its early introduction not only excites its students to learn more about the industry but also pursue it.
“We were the first university to start a dedicated microelectronic engineering B.S. degree program in the U.S.,” Moshnei said. “We did this over 40 years ago. We’ve been at it for a long time. You can get a quality education in semiconductors here in our city.”
