In January of this year, a team of MIT researchers published a whitepaper titled “Reasserting U.S. Leadership in Microelectronics,” which posits that universities must play a significant role in strengthening domestic semiconductor manufacturing capability.
The whitepaper was published in the midst of supply chain shortages that have dominated economic headlines over the past 12 months. One shortage in particular, the semiconductor supply crunch, has resulted in massive headaches for companies around the globe.
The United States has come to rely on Asian nations including Taiwan, China and South Korea to produce most of the chips that go in everything from our smartphones to our cars. These countries have done everything in their power to entice semiconductor companies to build their manufacturing plants, known as fabs, offshore. American companies such as NVIDIA and Apple design their own chips and contract with Asian companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to produce them.
It wasn’t always that way, however. In the 1970s, nearly all microchips were designed, tested and manufactured in the United States. Today, the U.S. share of the global microchip market is down to 12 percent, from 37 percent in 1990.
Chips for America
Bringing chip fabs back to the United States is an uphill battle due to the complexity and cost of building a chip manufacturing plant. In 2020, Congress introduced the CHIPS for America Act to provide $52 billion for domestic semiconductor research projects, design and increasing manufacturing capacity. The FABS Act, introduced in 2021, seeks to establish a semiconductor investment tax credit.
The MIT researchers believe that economic incentives on their own are not enough. In their whitepaper, they argue that universities are needed to train thousands of new workers and inject fresh talent into a tech scene that has largely turned its focus towards computer science and software development.
“In this national quest to regain leadership in microelectronics manufacturing, it was clear to us that universities should play a major role,” said Jesús del Alamo, lead author of the whitepaper, to MIT News. “We wanted to think from scratch about how universities can best contribute to this important effort.”
The argument laid out by the researchers is centered on a belief that United States universities must become centers of innovation and research, doubling as startup incubators. Not only would this have substantial benefits for the economy of the United States—similar to other initiatives such as becoming less reliant on oil from the Middle East—it would also set students up for lucrative careers in a crucial industry with long-term job security.
While semiconductor design and research doesn’t quite have the flair of working at a trendy new software company, it is crucial for the effective function of the United States economy.
“We are already in a situation where we are not producing enough engineers at all levels for the semiconductor industry, and we are talking about a major expansion. So, it just doesn’t add up,” del Alamo continued. “If we want to provide the workforce for this major expansion, we need to engage more students. The only way, in the short term, to provide many more graduates for this industry is expanding existing programs and engaging institutions that have not been involved in the past.”
Universities in the United States are a national resource and pipeline for advancing the country’s economic agenda. The next generation of engineers and entrepreneurs must be given the resources, facilities, networking opportunities and educational guidance they need to become leaders of the resurgence in chip production on domestic soil. All levels of the higher-education system must be engaged in steering promising students into this field and unlocking their potential to help solve one of the most pressing challenges facing the country. The opportunities and need are there, but students must be given everything they need to step up and become part of the solution.