The Grainger College of Engineering is working with the state of Illinois, P33, UIC and Northwestern to pitch for an Illinois-based headquarters for the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC). The NSTC will be supported by $5 billion from the CHIPS & Science Act signed by President Joe Biden.
“It should be in the center of the country, where you have a strong ecosystem, a place where not too much of the industry is driven by one or two companies,” says Rashid Bashir, dean of The Grainger College of Engineering. "People know the research and education piece that has come out of [Illinois] ... It's about connecting the dots and projecting a vision forward."
“Beyond silicon means a need for new materials and technology for conventional microelectronics,” says Harley Johnson, associate dean for research at Grainger Engineering. “You’re ultimately going to shift to new types of computing — such as quantum, neuromorphic or biological-based computing — physically replacing silicon with new materials and, in a larger sense, coming up with new types of computing.”
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