Why It Matters
Boise State University has received a nearly $1 million National Science Foundation award to support doctoral students preparing for work in microelectronics and the semiconductor industry. Idaho ranks sixth nationally for semiconductor employment density and is the only EPSCoR jurisdiction in the top 10.
What Happened
The three-year award comes through the National Science Foundation’s EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program. It will fund six students who hold NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mention status as they pursue Ph.D. degrees in six interdisciplinary fields.
Todd Otanicar is the principal investigator for the program, which will operate through Boise State’s Microelectronics Education and Research Center. Marie Anne de Graaff, Kurtis Cantley and Deb Carter are also part of the award leadership.
The funded students will pursue doctoral work in engineering, electrical and computer engineering, biomolecular sciences, computing, materials science and engineering, and biomedical engineering.
By the Numbers
- Nearly $1 million: Total NSF award amount.
- Three years: Length of both the award and pilot fellowship program.
- Six fellows: NSF GRFP Honorable Mention recipients receiving support.
- Six programs: Interdisciplinary doctoral programs represented.
- Two weeks: Potential international research placements at partner universities in Japan.
Program Support
Fellows will receive stipends, cost-of-education support, career development, mentorship and hands-on research opportunities during the three-year program.
The mentorship structure includes monthly industry-partner lunch-and-learn sessions, academic advising from trained faculty members using annually reviewed individual development plans, and external mentoring through TechBridge. Micron Technology and Intel are listed as industry partners.
Students may also take part in Vertically Integrated Project teams and Idaho National Laboratory fellowships. Related Boise State programs include UPWARDS for the Future, CREST AWESOME and E-RISE XTREME.
Amy Fleischer said, “This federal fellowship program is a direct investment in the talent pipeline that drives Idaho’s semiconductor industry forward.”
What’s Next
The pilot program will support its six fellows over the next three years. Otanicar said the initiative builds a Ph.D. student pipeline for Idaho’s growing semiconductor ecosystem through recruitment, retention and mentoring.
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