Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Science Foundation's Division of Computing and Communication Foundations (CFDA 47.070 - Computer and Information Science and Engineering) awarded $480.3K to Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station for a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site titled "WAVE SURF: Workforce Advancement in Verification and Emulation of Semiconductor Chips." Awarded October 1, 2026, and extending through September 30, 2029, this project delivers a ten-week annual summer research program training ten undergraduate students in semiconductor chip verification and artificial intelligence applications to design evaluation. The program specifically recruits from community colleges, regional universities, and institutions with limited research infrastructure, with targeted emphasis on first-generation college students, veterans, and students without prior research experience.

The deliverables include structured undergraduate research training across four interconnected research themes in hardware security and verification, professional development instruction in scientific communication and career readiness, mentorship from faculty, graduate students, and industry professionals, and direct industry engagement through guest lectures, mentorship, and site visits. The initiative addresses the documented national workforce shortage in chip verification engineers while broadening participation in semiconductor research—a strategically critical field essential to economic competitiveness and national security. Post-program engagement mechanisms sustain participant connections to the semiconductor workforce pipeline throughout the three-year funding period.