Major US Semiconductor Investment Means Jobs for Physicists

By:

Kendra Redmond, Editor

C5a - Chip.jpg

Researchers at NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, test a new chip that converts light into microwave signals. This chip (the fluorescent panel that looks like two tiny vinyl records) could improve technologies that depend on high-precision timing and communication, such as GPS and internet connections. The gold box to its left is a semiconductor laser that emits light to the chip. Photo credit K. Palubicki/NIST.

The United States is currently spending billions to elevate its semiconductor industry. The effort kicked off in 2022 when President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law. Today’s STEM students will be critical to its success and are well positioned for the job opportunities it will create.

A key section of the bill—CHIPS for America—provides tax incentives and $52 billion for US semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing. That includes building new facilities, partnerships, and programs in the United States, and investing in the workers who can make those efforts successful. Significant private sector investments have followed.

What does that mean for physics and astronomy students? “There are going to be lots of great manufacturing jobs,” says Eric Forsythe, director of the CHIPS Manufacturing USA Program at CHIPS for America.

Physics students may not typically consider a manufacturing career, but Forsythe says that electronics manufacturing is a deeply sophisticated process. “When you’re looking at what it takes to make an NVIDIA processor or an Intel processor, it is mindboggling that it works at all,” he says. “And the level of engineering and process knowledge it takes is just unprecedented in any other field.”

Additionally, the explosion of artificial intelligence is opening up a variety of new electronics applications, Forsythe says. Is a passion for medicine, finance, national security, or another area driving your career plans? You can impact so many areas through electronics innovations and quality manufacturing, he says. “Electronics touches everything.”

People with a physics degree at any level can always find a place in manufacturing—there will always be more to learn, and it will always be challenging, Forsythe says. “Problem-solving is really what manufacturing in today’s environment is all about.”