Stacey York, director of the materials science tracks in the Knight Campus Graduate Internship Program, presented to the state House Committee on Economic Development and Small Business on Wednesday, Sept. 21, about the internship program’s role in helping to create a diverse pipeline of highly skilled workers to support Oregon’s semiconductor industry.

In addition to her role with the Knight Campus Graduate Internship Program, York served as the co-principal investigator on a recent grant from the National Science Foundation to establish a pipeline from community college to the university to the high-tech and manufacturing workforce for talented low-income students in the physical sciences.

"I am incredibly proud of the dedicated work of our Knight Campus faculty and staff who are playing a pivotal role in developing the workforce Oregon needs to sustain and attract business and industry in our state," said Robert Guldberg, vice president and Robert and Leona DeArmond Executive Director of the Knight Campus.

Other presenters on the panel included Governor Kate Brown; Duncan Wyse, president, Oregon Business Council; Robert Camarillo, executive secretary, Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council; and Rahim Harji, assistant city manager, City of Hillsboro.

The state House Committee on Economic Development and Small Business is chaired by Representative Janelle Bynum (D-Happy Valley), a trained engineer who visited the Knight Campus earlier this year. The committee will consider recommendations made by the Semiconductor Task Force, including potential investments in Oregon’s public research universities to support competitiveness and the semiconductor industry’s needs.