NSTC—A Vision for an Enduring National Resource
ABSTRACT
The U.S. semiconductor industry is at an inflection point. The CHIPS and Science Act’s proposal to establish a National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) is a generational opportunity that must be effectively leveraged to address gaps in our national innovation fabric. The complex and multi-disciplinary nature of semiconductor technologies requires that we address the challenges facing us with a well-coordinated whole-of-nation approach. Today, promising basic research in microelectronics often dies on the vine, is taken up by foreign entities, or falls into the "valley of death" due to inadequate domestic funding and access to resources and fabrication facilities needed to scale to commercialization. The next paradigm shift in computing technology will require complementary innovations across the compute stack (e.g., in materials, devices, process technologies, architectures, packaging, software, applications). The U.S. lacks mechanisms for coordinating "full-stack" approaches to next generation technology development. This presentation will outline the actions needed for a robust NSTC that can solve the challenges to enable the US to leapfrog to semiconductor technology dominance.
BIOGRAPHY
As Chief Technologist, Dr. Raj Jammy is responsible for incubating and accelerating technologies in partnership with the private sector, and for developing strategic frameworks that promote technologies for the public good. Passionate about technology as well as building highly motivated teams, he has worked with many leading companies and nurtured many collaborations across the globe. A seasoned semiconductor/electronics industry executive, Dr. Jammy brings 25 years of experience to his role at MITRE Engenuity.
Prior to joining MITRE Engenuity, Dr. Jammy served as Vice President of Materials and Emerging Technologies at SEMATECH, a global semiconductor industry consortium, from 2008 to 2013. There, he worked with companies spanning the semiconductor ecosystem, including Intel, IBM, TSMC, GlobalFoundries, Samsung, CNSE, Qualcomm, UMC, as well as over 45 semiconductor equipment, SW, and materials suppliers. He oversaw the consortium’s efforts in front-end CMOS logic, novel memory technologies, 3D interconnects, and emerging beyond-CMOS technologies. As Chair of SEMATECH Executive Steering Council, he drove decisions on the technical programs, timing and budgets, reporting to the Board of Directors, in coordination with customer company executives. During his tenure, Dr. Jammy interacted extensively with senior leaders and decision makers in the global semiconductor industry value chain.
Since the start of his career at IBM’s Semiconductor Research and Development Center in 1996, Dr. Jammy has fostered many collaborative relationships not just with companies, but with universities and government agencies in the US (DARPA, IARPA, DoE, DoD, DMEA, NIST, etc.) and around the world, including Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, France, Germany, UK, and Belgium.
Jammy holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University, where he conducted part of his research at DoE’s Argonne National Laboratory. He holds more than 50 US patents, and is the author/co-author of over 225 publications/presentations.