Purdue’s leadership and strengths in semiconductors are highlighted at major event 

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University continues to lead in the field of semiconductors by partnering with industry leaders to discuss strategies for improving workforce development and accelerating the pace of innovation during the inaugural SEMIEXPO Heartland conference today and Wednesday (April 1-2).

Purdue President Mung Chiang joined government and industry representatives as one of the keynote speakers opening the two-day event. SEMIEXPO Heartland is being held at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.

The event is devoted to advancing the growing semiconductor industry in the Midwest, in line with Purdue’s focus on groundbreaking research and workforce development. Sessions are scheduled on topics including smart manufacturing, smart mobility and workforce development.

Chiang thanked Woong-Sun Lee, CEO of SK hynix West, and Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Adams for the transformational establishment of SK hynix’s AI memory chip facility at Purdue Research Park. “Our mutual commitment and trusted partnership, announced last year and now proceeding rapidly as planned, will soon create jobs, workforce and innovation with a growing ecosystem including many partners in the audience,” Chiang said.

Last year’s SK hynix partnership with Purdue to invest nearly $4 billion to construct an AI memory chip facility is a major part of the new smart crossroads of America.

Chiang delivered an address titled “Blazing New Trails to the Endless Frontiers: Transformation of America’s University Research,” which articulated a new architecture and culture of private capital for university research and concluded with “Paraphrasing Vannevar Bush in 1945: The frontiers are still endless, we might just have to blaze some new trails to continue the worthy pursuit.”

Additional opening speakers included Indiana Gov. Mike Braun as part of a fireside chat and industry representatives from SK hynix, SEMI and more.

Ganesh Subbarayan, director of Purdue’s Atalla Institute for Advanced System Integration and Packaging, spoke today on the Smart Manufacturing stage. Purdue is one of a handful of universities with established educational and research programs in advanced packaging, which focuses on revolutionizing chip packaging by enabling complex functionality while reducing cost.

Workforce development will be the focus on the second day of the conference, with a presentation by Purdue’s John Howarter, associate professor of materials engineering and environmental and ecological engineering. A panel discussion by members of Purdue’s Scalable Asymmetric Lifecycle Engagement K-12 program will include:

• Tamara Moore, professor of engineering education in the College of Engineering and executive director of INSPIRE Research Institute for Pre-College Engineering
• Greg Strimel, associate professor of technology leadership and innovation in Purdue Polytechnic Institute
• Morgan Hynes, associate professor of engineering education in the College of Engineering
• S. Selcen Guzey, assistant professor of science education in the College of Education

Prior to the SEMI conference, Purdue and imec, the world’s largest independent semiconductor R&D center and an Indiana partner, conducted a workshop on advanced semiconductor technologies and system scaling.

Purdue’s national leadership in microelectronics and semiconductors is a cornerstone of Purdue Computes — a comprehensive initiative that spans computing departments, physical AI, quantum science and semiconductor innovation. The university’s cutting-edge research, transformational investments in infrastructure and workforce development programs are setting a national benchmark for excellence and spearheading a growing semiconductor cluster in West Lafayette.

In addition to Purdue, SEMIEXPO Heartland was developed in partnership with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the Applied Research Institute and Visit Indy.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 107,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 58,000 at our main campus in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its comprehensive urban expansion, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.