MNC News

The University of Minnesota’s Technological Leadership Institute and the Minnesota Nano Center recently announced a new $100,000 grant for the Minnesota Semiconductor Manufacturing Consortium (MNCEO). The additional funding comes from partnerships with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), consortium members, and the University of Minnesota’s Office of Distributed Learning. The grant will facilitate the creation of seven additional learning modules focusing on microdevice fabrication. Topics covered will include microelectromechanical systems, finite element analysis, electroplating, and trends in emerging devices. 

“This financial commitment reflects the strong partnership between industrial, academic and government institutions that has fueled MNCEO’s extraordinary progress over a very short period of time,” said Dr. Allison Hubel, Director of TLI. “By coordinating our efforts we’re rapidly building new training and upskilling modules which are critical to the future of this industry in Minnesota.”

“The Minnesota Nano Center has been pleased to support this expansion of technology training opportunities,” said Dr. James Marti, senior scientist and outreach coordinator for the Nano Center. “We see improved training for microelectronics workers as essential to maintaining our region, and our nation, as centers of technology innovation.”

This partnership was made possible in part through a DEED funded consortium grant, with signatories Honeywell, Seagate, and Medtronic. Most notably, Seagate and Medtronic are new consortium members who are joining past consortium members Raytheon’s Collins Aerospace, Honeywell, and Polar Semiconductor. The new content will be designed to augment an initial delivery of 10 training modules developed in late 2023. That initial content was delivered to over 60 employees from across Minnesota's semiconductor technology cluster, with the first students completing the content in April of 2024. 

“I’m  very excited that we are able to continue providing this short course for our industry partners,” said Dr. Seth Nifonyim-Hara of the Mayo Clinic’s Biomechanical Development Unit and guest instructor for the University’s program. “In addition to the modules created last year, we are building additional modules in response to the specific technologies used by our new and continuing industry partners.” 

“As an engineer in the healthcare industry, I'm particularly excited to be creating an introductory module covering MEMS for medical devices. The semiconductor and MEMS industry is constantly evolving, growing, and developing,” he added.

In addition to the asynchronous content, the University of Minnesota's Nano Center plays an integral role in building complementary hands-on laboratory sessions. These sessions are tailored to align with the asynchronous modules: once students complete the remote content, they are able to directly experience the technology in-person at the Nano Center through lab sessions. The combination of remote asynchronous coursework, combined with practical experience, maximizes the impact education has on Minnesota's microfabrication workforce. 

For more information about the The Minnesota Semiconductor Consortium and its industrial partnership program, contact TLI at info@tli.edu. 

If you are an innovator, entrepreneur, researcher, or small technology firm, this opportunity is

for you! MNSBIR, Inc. hosted the “Americaʼs Seed Fund 2024 Road Tour” on July

19 th at the McNamara Center at the University of Minnesota. Attendees had the chance

to hear from local and national experts to gain a deeper understanding of the ins and outs of

the SBIR/STTR programs, as well as sign up to connect one-on-one with Americaʼs Seed

Fund-participating federal agencies.

The MNC will be at this SBIR event and is excited to work more closely with local small businesses!

 To learn more and register, please visit:

https://minnesotasbir.org.

The Nano Center's director Dr. Steven Koester was just named the University of Minnesota's first Chief Semiconductor Officer. 

Dr. Koester was recently interviewed in this week's Star Tribune to discuss the broader importance of the semiconductor industry and the need for more coordination amongst various private and public players in the semiconductor industry. We have included some key excerpts from his interview below:

Why is this important for the University of Minnesota?

"It's important because I think there needs to be some high-level coordination for all of the semiconductor innovation that's happening, both at the university and in the entire state of Minnesota. The Twin Cities has a huge amount of semiconductors here. We can grow as a semiconductor hub.

The CHIPS and Science Act has a significant amount of funds that's intending to boost both domestic semiconductor manufacturing and R&D in the United States. So there's a lot of funding opportunities. It's seeding a lot of activity.

My position is intended to really try to provide that kind of coordination between academia, industry, state and federal governments to try to enhance the ecosystem that we have here in Minnesota."

Companies could use these?

"Some of my work is currently funded by Intel. They're interested in a novel semiconductor called tungsten diselenide, which has the potential to replace silicon. To replace it is a monumental task. But we're reaching the point where you just can't make transistors any smaller using silicon.

There's actually some activity that's of interest to industry where you would actually replace silicon with another material that can be made much thinner than silicon. If you can make the material thinner, you can make the transistor smaller."

What is being made at the Nano Center?

"You can kind of think of it as a prototyping facility for very advanced concepts in really a wide range of technologies. It can be semiconductors, but it could be in a wide variety of fields: magnetics, spintronics, microfluidics, sensors. A whole range of different technologies can be done in the Nano Center. We have capabilities that allow you to do state-of-the-art prototypes. Mainly what we're doing is supporting research."

Read the full article at the link below

https://www.startribune.com/university-minnesota-chief-semiconductor-officer-chips-act/600379171/?refresh=true