USC Receives $26.9 Million from Department of Defense to Reduce Reliance on Foreign Microelectronics
USC has been awarded $26.9 million by the U.S. Department of Defense to establish innovative technologies that aim to decrease the country’s dependence on foreign microelectronics and safeguard national security from supply chain risks, according to an announcement made on Wednesday.
The newly created “innovation hub” at USC will concentrate on the development of microelectronics in key areas such as electromagnetic warfare, secure computing “at the tactical edge,” artificial intelligence hardware, internet of things, 5G and 6G wireless technology, and quantum technology. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks emphasized these areas during a briefing on Wednesday.
Under the CHIPS Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden last year with the intention of bringing semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States, USC will establish one of eight regional innovation hubs called Microelectronic Commons.
Senator Dianne Feinstein congratulated USC on receiving this award. In a statement, she said, “These innovation hubs will advance cutting-edge technologies in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and hardware for national defense, among other areas. They will generate high-quality jobs and contribute to the growth of the tech industry in both Northern and Southern California.”
The Department of Defense also granted Microelectronic Commons awards to Stanford University and UC Berkeley.
“While America leads the world in innovative research and design of microelectronics, we have fallen behind in prototyping, manufacturing, and large-scale production,” stated Hicks.
Currently, the United States is only responsible for approximately 12% of global microelectronics production, with Asia dominating most of the market, as per the Department of Defense. The U.S. also lacks the capacity to confirm the viability and marketability of new microelectronics technologies, which hinders investment from American industry, the department added.
The Microelectronics Commons program, funded with $2 billion for fiscal years 2023-27, aims to utilize the regional hubs to accelerate domestic hardware prototyping and manufacturing of semiconductor technologies, mitigating supply chain risks, and providing American troops with access to cutting-edge microchips more quickly, according to the Department of Defense.
Hicks further stated, “These hubs, aligned with the DoD’s commitment to innovation, will address a variety of technical challenges to ensure that our troops have access to the most advanced microchips for a wide range of applications, including ships, planes, tanks, munitions, communication equipment, sensors, and more.”
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