COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Intel has more than $50 million in play for research with 80 Ohio educational institutions on semiconductors and employee training for its plants.
Semiconductors — the little chips that make computing possible — are made with thousands of tiny electrical transistors. And they’re part of the electronics people use every day, like cell phones, computers, cars and more. They need a workforce with particular skills to make them.
The Center For Advanced Semiconductor Fabrication Research and Education is Ohio State’s research center supported by Intel. Here, students have their own highly-sterilized environment just like Intel’s fabricators to learn about the process of creating computer chips from wafers of tiny silicon crystals.
“We control the flow of electricity very rapidly in very small spaces, very energy efficiently,” said Steven Ringel, CAFE’s lead principal investigator. “And that’s what makes large things small, that’s what makes things happen fast. Yeah, that’s what’s really powering modern society around the world.”
Manisha Muduli grew up in India. She’s now a doctoral student at Ohio State’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
“It is something that you can see, feel, touch, and that is what interested me to join the field of semiconductors,” Muduli said. “We are very closely working with Intel. We know their expectations, what they do, what they know.”
But the semiconductor industry doesn’t just need employees with doctorate-level degrees, especially as Intel claims its plant will create 3,000 full-time jobs. In 2022, Intel announced the Ohio Semiconductor Education and Research Program, which would partner with more than 80 Ohio institutions as part of a $50 million investment to train new employees in the field, and potentially directly for the company.
“Many people think that you need an advanced degree to work in advanced manufacturing, and you don’t,” said Scott McElmore, executive in residence at Columbus State Community College. “By volume, the largest number of people that they need are those with associate’s degree or less. And Intel is no exception.”
Columbus State offers a two-year electro-mechanical engineering technology associate degree. There’s also a semiconductor fundamentals certification program, which can prepare entry-level workers in just two semesters.
Archie Hemmingway is among those students, and always had a passion for computers. When he heard about Intel coming to town, Archie decided to go back to school. This summer, he’ll begin an internship at the Intel facility in Arizona that will likely lead to a job back at Intel’s Ohio plant when it opens.
“It’s one thing to be, you know, going and getting a job, but it’s another thing to be like, ‘hey, I was here when the doors opened,'” Hemmingway said.