Semiconductor Research Corporation

Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) is an American technology research consortium. A non-profit founded in 1982 and based in North Carolina, USA, SRC comprises a few programs:

  • Global Research Collaboration (GRC) drives near-term materials, interconnect, devices, design, and tools progress.
  • Focus Center Research Programs (FCRP) supports future generations of IC requirements.
  • Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI) is responsible for determining the post-CMOS information element by 2020.
  • Energy Research Initiative (ERI) supports research in photovoltaics, smart grid, electrical energy storage and power management.
  • SRC Education Alliance (SRCEA) is a private foundation supporting science and engineering students and encouraging them to pursue careers in the semiconductor industry.
  • Semiconductor Technology Advanced Research Network (STARnet) is a collaborative of universities providing exploratory research on semiconductor, system and design technology for the U.S. microelectronics and defense industries.

SRC Education Alliance

A private foundation,[1] the SRC Education Alliance (SRCEA) supports science and engineering students at various levels of education, encouraging them to pursue careers as innovators and technology leaders. SRCEA is a branch of the Semiconductor Research Corporation.[2] The foundation develops sources of funding to provide undergraduate and graduate science and engineering students with educational opportunities consisting of traditional coursework, cutting-edge research, and direct interaction with the semiconductor industry.[3][4]

Each year, 1,500 students are supported by SRC and SRCEA through research contracts and grants, fellowships and scholarships, and the foundation’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities (URO) program. The organization offers financial support, mentoring, and industry-relevant research with SRC-funded faculty.[5] SRCEA attracts students with an interest in the semiconductor research field and helps them forge their pathway to become technology leaders and drive tomorrow's innovations.

Since SRC’s inception in 1982, more than 8,000 students have contributed to significant research and published thousands of technical papers.[6][7] Alumni of the program have become industry leaders and renowned faculty researchers.

The unique synergy of these student programs allows technologically educated individuals to make substantial headwind in areas that are important to the economy and industry, as well as to national security[8] and quality of life, through their research.

Grants from industry organizations, like the 2011 Intel Foundation gift of $1.4 million,[9] are distributed through the URO to support student research.[10]

In 2011, SRC said it had joined researchers from Stanford University to develop a combination of elements that would yield a unique nanostructure material for packaging.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (URO)

SRC's URO Program, funded by SRCEA, is another opportunity for sponsorship, often with an emphasis on students from underrepresented groups.[11][12] Students participate and receive hands-on research experiences and mentoring; guidance and support in applying to graduate school; and opportunities for internships at national corporations.[13][14]

The URO program supports nearly 230 students annually and is in place at 14 universities, including Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Howard University, Purdue University, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, among others.

URO offers an opportunity for connectivity between a diverse range of undergraduate students and relevant research projects in engineering and physical sciences. This expanded network of connections often influences their undergraduate career and provides ongoing opportunities for post-graduation employment.

GRC Graduate Fellowship Program

The Graduate Fellowship Program (GFP), funded through SRCEA, addresses the issues of improving educational opportunities at the doctoral level and supplying a relevantly educated workforce for the semiconductor industry.[15] The objectives of the program are to encourage academically gifted U.S./permanent resident students to pursue doctoral degrees in research areas consistent with SRC program goals, and to develop a cadre of the highest quality doctoral graduates for member companies and U.S. universities.

The GFP was created in 1986 to attract exceptionally talented students with U.S. citizenship to academic areas of interest to SRC members. The program has since been opened to students holding permanent resident, refugee, or political asylum status in the U.S.

While program fellows are not required to take employment within the SRC community upon graduation, they are strongly encouraged to do so, and assistance is provided in finding appropriate employment in an SRC member company, U.S. government agency, or U.S. university.

Funding

Private giving is an important source of funding.

SRC-supported research

Various university-based research projects are supported by the SRC. These studies, conducted by SRC faculty mentors and student scholars, provide new advancement to the semiconductor industry. The following are examples of relevant industry research supported by the SRC:

T3S Program

SRC's Trustworthy and Secure Semiconductors and Systems (T3S) program is a research effort aimed at developing cost-effective strategies and tools to design and manufacture chips and systems that are reliable, trustworthy, secure and resistant to attack, tampering or counterfeiting. In other words, they want to provide assurance that hardware systems do what they are intended to and nothing else. In 2014, $4 million in projects were announced for 10 universities.[20] Also in 2014, Qualcomm joined the initiative to assist with the T3S program. According to an article about the initiative, the addition of Qualcomm “substantially increases the impact of the T3S investment and enhances the value of the federal program by utilizing funding and connecting industry and academia.”[21]

Global operations

SRC has had over 100 projects in 26 different countries outside of the United States since 2000. Most recently, SRC has collaborated with Malaysia's research and development centre to boost the country's semiconductor industry research. Previous collaboration between local universities and the semiconductor and electronic industry in the country has not been productive, so SRC is providing expertise to help the industry grow. SRC officials traveled to Malaysia in 2014 to meet the global and domestic semiconductor industry players with operations there.[22]

References
  1. GuideStar, “SRC Education Alliance”, GuideStar, 2014
  2. Controlled Environments, “Rich Named Executive Director of SRC Education Alliance”, “Controlled Environments”, Nov. 12, 2010
  3. Carnegie Mellon University Undergraduate Research Office, “We Thank Our Donors”, Carnegie Mellon University, 2014
  4. Kawika Riley, “Full-Ride Engineering Scholarship for Underrepresented Minorities Clarifies Policy, Now Available to Pacific Islanders”, The Pacific Islander Access project Blog, October 5, 2013
  5. Rosso, Dan. "University of Minnesota Professor Sachin Sapatnekar Honored for Excellence in Semiconductor Research". semiconductors.org. Semiconductor Industry Association. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  6. College of Engineering Communications Staff, “Environmental Engineering Student Receives Karecki Award”, Arizona Engineer, March 27, 2014
  7. Georgia Tech Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology, “Will Wahby Chosen for Intel Foundation/SRCEA Fellowship” Archived 2014-06-26 at Archive.today, Georgia Institute of Technology
  8. "Protecting our processors". National Science Foundation. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  9. UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-06-26. Retrieved 2014-06-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), UCLA Engineering, 2011
  10. “Semiconductor industry funds intern assistantships”, Solid State Technology, 2000
  11. “Intel Funds Semiconductor Scholarships”, Photonics.com, December 23, 2002
  12. Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, “Semiconductor Research Corporation” Archived 2012-09-25 at the Wayback Machine, University of Michigan, 2014
  13. “Semiconductor Research Corporation and Intel Foundation Partner to Prepare Future Innovators with Use-Inspired Research Program”, Business Wire, September 15, 2009
  14. Intel, “Undergrads Learn Research Is Relevant”, Intel, 2014
  15. Nuclear Science & Engineering at MIT, “TSRC (Semiconductor Research Corporation) Scholarships and fellowships”, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2014
  16. Johnson, R. Colin. "Intel & Georgia Tech Advance Spintronics". EE Times. UBM Tech. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  17. "SRC, UC Davis explore new materials and device structures to develop next-generation "Race Track Memory" technologies". Electroiq.com. Solid State Technology. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  18. "UCSB reports highest-performing III-V MOSFETs". Semiconductor Today. Juno Publishing and Media Solutions. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  19. Francisco, Dan. "High-performance MoS2 field-effect transistors". Phys.org. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  20. "Protecting our processors". National Science Foundation. National Science Foundation. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  21. "Qualcomm joins SRC's Trustworthy and Secure Semiconductors and Systems Initiative". Solid State Technology Magazine. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  22. "Globetronics: R&D collaboration yields little result". The Star Online. The Star Malaysia. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
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