This week, ASU announced teams selected for four seed funding projects that will begin the Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub.

Arizona’s economy is shifting into a semiconductor powerhouse and ASU is at the forefront of not only advancing the technology but also creating the workforce needed to sustain that transformation. That was the theme at the seventh annual Congressional Conference held Aug. 15 at Arizona State University’s Tempe campus, titled “Advancing Arizona’s Technological Competitiveness.”

The objective of a memorandum of understanding signed in Tempe in November to integrate Mexico into the semiconductor industry in support of the CHIPS Act got underway recently in Sonora with a “train-the-trainer” course to prepare instructors who will educate the future semiconductor workforce.

A new Raytheon engineering design hub opening at SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, will leverage talent in the metro Phoenix area, housing approximately 150 professional positions — 95% of which will be employees new to Raytheon.

ASU recently held a workshop with more than 30 partners from academia, industry, national laboratories and nonprofits to discuss four quick-turn projects that will showcase the team’s readiness for national defense programs funded by the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act.

A new $270 million Materials-to-Fab Center will bring Applied Materials’ semiconductor-manufacturing equipment to the ASU Research Park, providing students with hands-on experience and startups with access to materials.