Purdue University recently secured approximately $4 billion in funding for the establishment of a semiconductor manufacturing facility.
The Biden administration is supporting the semiconductor sector to bolster chip manufacturing in the United States. Despite this initiative, there is a shortage of skilled workers in the field of AI chip production. Educational institutions play a vital role in fostering the development of these specialized skills.
The demand for more workers in the US to drive the advancement of AI chips is pressing. The semiconductor industry, responsible for producing AI cards, has witnessed a significant decline in American semiconductor production employees over the past two decades, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
This decline in the workforce aligns with the diminishing market share of the US in chip manufacturing. Between 1990 and 2020, the number of chips manufactured in the US decreased by a third, while Taiwan, China, and South Korea collectively experienced a nearly 60% growth in market share, according to The Journal.
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly critical for national and global security, the United States is striving to maintain leadership in chip manufacturing. Saif M. Khan and Alexander Mann highlighted in a report from the Center for Security and Emerging Technology that “general-purpose AI software, data, and techniques are not effective substitutes.”
Maintaining a competitive edge in device production is essential for the US to retain its global position. National security advisor Jake Sullivan emphasized the significance of innovative logic and memory chips in a 2022 discussion, stressing the need to preserve technological prospects.
However, device manufacturing remains a significant cost factor for companies, as outlined by McKinsey & Company. Despite the rise in costs for American production, the Biden administration has allocated substantial funding for silicon research, development, production, and workforce training through the CHIPS and Science Act.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., a leading chip manufacturer, is leveraging these incentives to expand its operations in Arizona. Nevertheless, incentives can only yield results if there is a skilled workforce to support the industry’s growth.
Colleges play a pivotal role in nurturing the expertise required for the semiconductor industry. Purdue University in Indiana has seen a surge in student interest in the booming AI market and the escalating prices in the US chip sector, including companies like Nvidia.
Notably, Purdue and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix are collaborating on a $3.9 billion semiconductor complex in West Lafayette dedicated to AI memory chip production. Encouraging students to develop a passion for semiconductors remains a key challenge, according to Nikhilesh Chawla, a materials engineering professor at Purdue.
Experts predict a potential decrease in labor costs for the semiconductor sector in the upcoming years. Purdue’s president, Mung Chiang, highlighted packaging as an area where cost reductions may occur, particularly with SK Hynix’s advancements in packaging technology, which are expected to redefine cost structures in the industry.
