CHIPS Act: Reviewing the Bill

Understanding the details of the bill is crucial to prioritizing the available funding. Where should this money go? In this session, participants will take a closer look at the CHIPS Act semiconductor related language with the goal of understanding the intent of this bill.

Speaker: Dr. Michael Fritze

How to Ensure CHIPS Will Deliver the Final Punch

We have the funding, now what? This session will address the economic and financial issues of the CHIPS Act. How can we turn the available $50 billion into enough money to really address the issue of strong domestic semiconductor capabilities? What is the path to achieve a total $200 billion investment, which is what is really needed to address this issue?

Speaker: Ardavan Mobasheri

Manufacturing Considerations Fabrication is at the heart of the microelectronics industry and this area will receive the largest amount of CHIPS funding. We will take a deep dive into the complex semiconductor fabrication process and develop a strong understanding of its importance and influence. The goal is a better understanding of how CHIPS funding can impact the semiconductor fabrication capabilities of the US. Speakers: John Behnke and Brian Shirley

Motivation for USG Investment: Why Should the Government Invest?

The government has been given $52 billion for stimulating domestic semiconductor capabilities with the passing of the CHIPS Act. This session will focus on why the U.S. Government should make a large investment in this area right now. We will also consider the pressing economic and national security reasons motivating such a significant investment.

Speaker: Hon. Alan Shaffer

R&D Efforts

R&D will receive the second largest amount of CHIPS funding, at $24 billion. This will take the form of creating a National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (APMP), and a Manufacturing USA Institute focused on semiconductors. This course will focus on the structure of successful public-private consortia as we consider what we can learn from past experiences and current public-private consortia to inform the formation of the NSTC, APMP, and the Manufacturing USA Institute. Speaker: Dr. Paolo Gargini

Business Aspects and Workforce

The CHIPS investments will fail if there is insufficient workforce to execute the desired goals. This course will explore how we can incentivize the skills required for CHIPS in the U.S. workforce. In this session, we will consider the challenges posed by the limited trained workers, and the need for more in this field. We will also discuss ways to gain more interest while exploring options to increase the workforce.

Speaker: Sara Newton-Klitz 

Implementation Challenges

Implementation Challenges: Acquisitions and How to Effectively Push the Money Out The CHIPS Act provides a unique opportunity to change the course of the U.S. decline in microelectronic production and thereby provide more reliable and secure microelectronics parts. Now that the funds have been appropriated, how they are implemented by the USG could either enhance or squander this rare opportunity. This course will look at the various methods the USG can use to move funds. Topics will include grants versus specific contract mechanisms, the advantages and pitfalls of each, and the potential use of the Defense Production Act authorities. Participants will also explore potential guardrails to help discourage poor spending by awardees.

Speaker: Ted Glum