The Knight Campus will benefit directly and indirectly from recently announced funding from a new National Science Foundation (NSF) Regional Innovation Engine award. As part of FAST (Frontiers of Advanced Semiconductor Technology), the UO and its statewide collaborators represent one of 12 nationwide partners in the program.
Led by Oregon State University, the NSF FAST Engine brings together nearly 100 partners across higher education, industry, government, and non-profit organizations and is positioned to receive up to $160 million over 10 years through the award. The investment will support efforts to expand semiconductor innovation, manufacturing, workforce development and economic growth in Oregon.
As a core partner, the University of Oregon will receive just over $1.2 million during the first two years of the program to support activities across the Knight Campus, Department of Physics, Materials Science Institute, and the Center for Advanced Materials Characterization in Oregon (CAMCOR).
The semiconductor track within the Knight Campus Graduate Internship Program (KCGIP) will leverage the support to raise awareness of semiconductor careers, recruit and prepare more students, enhance training opportunities, and expand partnerships with industry. These efforts will help create stronger pathways into semiconductor careers while addressing the workforce needs of Oregon employers.
UO’s participation in FAST also helped position the university to receive a separate $1.5 million state grant from the Higher Education Coordinating Commission’s Semiconductor Talent Sustaining Fund earlier this year. That funding will develop shared curriculum and online certificates, offer on-campus undergraduate research experiences, expand industry partnerships and build K-12 Career Pathways.