Purdue University continues to position itself as a leader in microelectronics and semiconductor education to support semiconductor workforce development. A new course, Changing the World with Chips: Introduction to Semiconductors is open to students from the College of Engineering, School of Engineering Technology, Computer Science, Physics and Math. It is an interactive, seminar based, one-credit hour course to introduce students to semiconductor technology and the broad range of opportunities within the semiconductor industry.

Muhammad Hussain, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Muhammad Hussain, professor in the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, teaches the course.

“In partnership with more than 15 global semiconductor industries, Purdue has designed this interactive discussion based informational course to make our youth aware and excited about the semiconductor technology,” said Hussain. “After four sessions, the excitement and the engagement of the students are simply astonishing.”

The course is offered both in-person and online. Every week there is a fifty-minute session where industry representatives discuss relevant semiconductor products, company profiles, career prospects, and answer questions from students. Speakers are from some of the largest companies in the world including Google, Intel, Microsoft, Tesla and others. Students in the course will develop their personal networks while being presented with resources and opportunities to prepare for careers within the semiconductor industry. The following are some of the topics that may be covered in this course:

• Logic microprocessors
• Memory technology
• Designing semiconductor electronics
• Semiconductor modeling tools
• Sustainable semiconductor manufacturing processes

In May of 2022, Purdue launched the Semiconductor Degrees Program (SDP), a suite of innovative degrees and credentials, to educate both graduate and undergraduate students about microelectronics and semiconductors. The program ranges from traditional on-campus courses to a new set of degrees, competitive internships, innovative Learning While Working programs, flexible online courses, and virtual laboratories. Purdue currently leads three Semiconductor Research Corporation funded multi-university research programs and recently launched the Center for Secure Microelectronics Ecosystems. Strong connections like these to industry, DoD, NIST, and NSF support one of the nation’s largest semiconductors research programs.

‘The Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering is committed to keep innovating in the semiconductor research and education space,” said Dimitrios Peroulis, Purdue’s Michael and Katherine Birck Head and Reilly Professor in the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “We believe such partnerships are critically important for both our students and microelectronics industry.’

Vijay Raghunathan, Director of Semiconductor Education and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Purdue also leads the Scalable Asymmetric Lifecycle Engagement (SCALE), a five-year, DoD-sponsored national coalition of 17 universities aimed at addressing the urgent need to develop a highly skilled U.S. microelectronics workforce to bolster national security. SCALE is being managed in partnership with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division (NSWC- Crane) as a nationally coordinated network of government, industry and university partners.

"Through our Semiconductor Degrees Program and related endeavors, Purdue is leading the nation in training the next generation of workforce leaders in semiconductors and microelectronics,” said Vijay Rhagunathan, professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of semiconductor education. “This course is the first of several exciting initiatives we are rolling out as part of the SDP. I am thrilled to see the enthusiastic response from students as well as the strong support from our industry partners and look forward to scaling up even faster in the near future."

More information about microelectronics and semiconductor educational opportunities at Purdue can be found here.