Purdue University partners with Japan, Europe and India to improve semiconductors

Margaret Christopherson, Lafayette Journal & Courier
Updated ·2 min read
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. − Purdue President Mung Chiang signed an international agreement with Micron, Tokyo Electron and other educational institutions in the United States and Japan to establish the “UPWARDS Network” - an agreement to advance the workforce, research and development of semiconductors.

This announcement was made Sunday during this year's Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima, Japan, which also included leaders from Australia, India and the U.S.

Purdue University President Mung Chiang on Sunday (May 21) at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, signed another landmark international agreement to advance Purdue’s efforts in semiconductors production. Purdue is partnering with Micron, Tokyo Electron and other educational institutions in the United States and Japan to establish the “UPWARDS Network” for workforce advancement and research and development in semiconductors. The agreement was signed in the presence of, among others, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken; Keiko Nagaoka, Japan’s Minister for Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel. The signatories later had a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden at the end of the summit.

A statement from the White House noted Purdue's involvement in the advancement of semiconductors.

"...the finalization of a memorandum of cooperation on education and technology and the launching of new partnerships between U.S. and Japanese companies and universities, including the University of Chicago and Purdue University, in areas like quantum computing and semiconductors," the statement said.

Chiang also remarked about Purdue's involvement during the signing ceremony.

“Purdue is the leading American university in semiconductor talent, innovation and industry partnership,” Chiang said. “We are excited to partner with the semiconductor companies and other institutions for semiconductor collaboration between the U.S. and Japan. We will also launch the Negishi Fellowship in addition to the UPWARDS Network program to strengthen such collaboration.”

As founding industry partners, Micron and Tokyo Electron along with the National Science Foundation and various universities will together invest over $60 million for this five-year project.

Some of those U.S. universities involved include: Boise State University; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Rochester Institute of Technology; the University of Washington and Virginia Tech.

Japanese university participants include: Hiroshima University; Kyushu University; Nagoya University; Tohoku University and Tokyo Institute of Technology.

This agreement marks Purdue as the only university in the U.S. with bilateral partnerships in semiconductor with Europe, India and Japan, according to a release.

Read more about Purdue's involvement with the semiconductor industry online.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: An agreement signed by Mung Chiang will further semiconductor progress