Cooperative Agreement 2315320

NSF ENGINES: CENTRAL FLORIDA SEMICONDUCTOR INNOVATION ENGINE -THIS NSF ENGINES AWARD TO THE CENTRAL FLORIDA SEMICONDUCTOR INNOVATION ENGINE WILL PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN BOLSTERING OUR NATION?S PRODUCTION CAPACITY OF SEMICONDUCTORS, PARTICULARLY IN THE EMERGING ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGING SECTOR. ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGING IS INCREASINGLY AN ESSENTIAL PROCESS TO ACHIEVING THE PERFORMANCE DEMANDS OF MANY OF THE EMERGING APPLICATIONS THAT ARE NOW AT THE FOREFRONT OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION?FOR EXAMPLE, FIFTH-GENERATION (?5G?) WIRELESS COMMUNICATION, AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING, ADVANCED SENSORS, AND VIRTUAL/AUGMENTED REALITY. CURRENTLY, THE UNITED STATES DOES NOT HAVE A MEANINGFUL ONSHORE SEMICONDUCTOR ADVANCED PACKAGING MANUFACTURING SECTOR, AS LESS THAN 3% OF SEMICONDUCTOR ADVANCED PACKAGING MANUFACTURING OCCURS IN THE UNITED STATES; THE NATION IS OVERWHELMINGLY RELIANT ON OFFSHORE FOUNDRIES, PRIMARILY IN ASIA. AS THE LIMITS OF MOORE?S LAW ARE REACHED AND PACKAGING BECOMES A MORE COMPLEX AND IMPORTANT PART OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING PROCESS, THIS NSF ENGINE IS POSITIONED TO CAPTURE THE ECONOMIC GROWTH, DRIVE KEY TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN A RAPIDLY-CHANGING SECTOR, AND SECURE OUR NATIONAL DEFENSE BY ROOTING A VITAL INDUSTRY ON AMERICAN SHORES. IN ADDITION TO THE SIGNIFICANT NATIONAL IMPACTS, THE NSF ENGINE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CREATE THOUSANDS OF GOOD-PAYING JOBS IN A HIGHLY DYNAMIC AND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY SPACE. THE NSF ENGINE HAS ALREADY CREATED FLAGSHIP UPSKILLING AND RETRAINING PROGRAMS THAT HAVE CREATED LADDERS INTO ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR WORKERS FROM ALL EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUNDS. IF SUCCESSFUL, THE CONCENTRATION OF SEMICONDUCTOR TALENT, EXISTING PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, AND RESEARCH CAPACITY OF THE REGION COULD REPRESENT A KEY NATIONAL SECURITY ASSET AND A NEW FORCE FOR ECONOMIC PROSPERITY IN THE REGION. THE BROADER REGION OF SERVICE ENCOMPASSES A SEVEN-COUNTY REGION IN CENTRAL FLORIDA CENTERED AROUND OSCEOLA COUNTY. THIS IS A STRATEGIC LOCATION FOR AN EMERGING SEMICONDUCTOR HUB, AND THE NSF ENGINE IS UNIQUELY POSITIONED FOR SUCCESS IN PART BY GEOGRAPHY. NEOCITY, THE HEART OF THE NSF ENGINE?S EFFORTS, IS LOCATED IN ONE OF THE NATION?S FASTEST GROWING METROPOLITAN AREAS FOR STEM TALENT, WITH PROXIMITY TO THE SPACE COAST AND ONE OF THE NATION?S LEADING TECHNICAL UNIVERSITIES WITH A STRONG CONCENTRATION OF THE NATION?S SEMICONDUCTOR RESEARCH TALENT, THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA. ADDITIONALLY, THE NSF ENGINE HAS BUILT A STEM-FOCUSED HIGH SCHOOL IN THE NEOCITY INDUSTRIAL PARK WITH SPECIFIC WORKFORCE TRACKS AND INTERNSHIPS THAT FEED INTO VARIOUS OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE LOCAL SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY. THE REGION WAS ALSO THE RECIPIENT OF A BUILD BACK BETTER REGIONAL CHALLENGE AWARD AS WELL AS SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA TOTALING NEARLY $300 MILLION TO POSITION AND SCALE THE REGION?S CAPACITY TO SERVE AS A SEMICONDUCTOR HUB FOR THE NATION. THESE EFFORTS HAVE BEEN LED BY ICAMR, INC. (D.B.A. BRIDG), WHICH IS A NON-PROFIT PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP WITH HEAVY INVOLVEMENT BY OSCEOLA COUNTY GOVERNMENT, R1 ACADEMIC AND NONPROFIT RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS (UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, IMEC-USA), A HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTION AND TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE (VALENCIA COLLEGE), A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROVIDER (CAREERSOURCE CENTRAL FLORIDA), ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS (ORLANDO ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP, FLORIDA HIGH TECH CORRIDOR), AND VARIOUS INDUSTRY PARTNERS. EACH PLAY A SIGNIFICANT AND COMPLEMENTARY ROLE WITHIN THE BROADER ECOSYSTEM. USE-INSPIRED RESEARCH AND TRANSLATION ACTIVITIES BY THE NSF ENGINE, BOTH OCCURRING IN ACADEMIC LABS AND MUNICIPALLY-OWNED INDUSTRIAL FABRICATION FACILITIES, STAND TO ADVANCE THE CURRENT STATE OF PRACTICE BY ADVANCING DIGITAL TWIN TECHNOLOGY AS IT RELATES TO THE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY, CREATING NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR ASSURED AND SECURED SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGING, AND DEVELOPING NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF VERTICAL INTERCONNECTS AND INTERPOSERS (E.G., THROUGH-SILICON VIA, THROUGH-GLASS VIA, THROUGH-SUBSTRATE VIA) THAT WOULD POSITION THE NSF ENGINE AT THE LEADING EDGE OF CHIP PACKAGING DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING. LEADING INDUSTRY PARTNERS IN THE SEMICONDUCTOR SECTOR HAVE ALREADY INITIATED DIRECT ENGAGEMENT WITH RESEARCHERS TO INFORM, TEST, AND SCALE PROTOTYPES THAT RESULT FROM RESEARCH ACTIVITIES, FURTHER POSITIONING THE REGION AS A CENTRAL POINT FOR RESEARCH TALENT AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS IN THE SEMICONDUCTOR SECTOR TO CROSSOVER AND CONVERGE TO ULTIMATELY PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT ADVANCED PACKAGING INNOVATION. THIS NSF ENGINE ? DUE TO A COMBINATION OF INTENTIONAL EFFORTS TO TRAIN A PREPARED WORKFORCE, UNPRECEDENTED INVESTMENTS IN PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (INCLUDING A COUNTY-OWNED FABRICATION LAB), TARGETED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES, AND A REGIONAL CONCENTRATION OF EXPERIENCED SEMICONDUCTOR RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING TALENT ? HAS A UNIQUE CAPACITY AND THE NECESSARY COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE TO SUCCEED AND THRIVE IN A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE SECTOR AND PROVIDE OUR NATION WITH A KEY DOMESTIC SUPPLY CHAIN RESOURCE FOR ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TECHNOLOGIES IN THE WORLD TODAY. IT IS ALSO POISED TO CREATE ANOTHER VITAL NATIONAL RESOURCE: A HIGHLY TRAINED SEMICONDUCTOR WORKFORCE. TOGETHER WITH KEY PARTNERS SUCH AS VALENCIA COLLEGE, THE NSF ENGINE HAS ALREADY BEGUN THE ESSENTIAL WORK OF CREATING PATHWAYS TO HIGH-PAYING JOBS IN THE SECTOR FOR RESIDENTS FROM ACROSS THE REGION THAT OPEN OPPORTUNITY AND CREATE ECONOMIC STABILITY FOR FAMILIES UP AND DOWN THE ECONOMIC LADDER. THESE FACTORS POSITION THE NSF ENGINE TO BE A POWERFUL ENGINE FOR U.S. COMPETITIVENESS, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, AND ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGING INNOVATION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.