UB, partners awarded $40 million to boost semiconductor industry

The Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region will receive $40 million for semiconductor manufacturing, research and education, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer announced Tuesday.

The funding is part of the CHIPS & Science Act passed by Congress in 2022. In addition to the tri-city region, 11 other metro areas nationwide were awarded $464 million to support technology hubs, which have mostly been limited to large coastal cities.

Schumer appeared at the Northland Workforce Training Center in Buffalo — he was also scheduled to visit Rochester and Syracuse — to celebrate the announcement.

"This is a monumental victory for the Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region as the first major Tech Hub award in the nation," Schumer said in a release. "America's semiconductor future runs through the heart of upstate New York along the I-90 corridor."

Joining Schumer Tuesday was President Satish K. Tripathi and Venu Govindaraju, vice president for research and economic development.

Tripathi, who thanked Schumer, Rep. Tim Kennedy and others, noted UB will play a significant role in the endeavor, officially called the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub. This includes improving the region’s supply chain for semiconductors and microchips, and linking suppliers to new customers.

“UB is honored to harness our research and industry partnerships in service of this regional tech hub,” Tripathi said, adding that it has the potential to “transform our region into a national center for semiconductor manufacturing bolstered by a robust supply chain and workforce.”

The Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse consortium includes roughly 100 members from across higher education, the public sector, industry, economic and workforce development, and labor. 

Also playing key roles in the effort are Monroe Community College in Rochester, which will lead a workforce training effort that’s charged with preparing thousands of workers for careers in the semiconductor industry, and Syracuse University, which will help small and midsized companies commercialize their products.

UB has long been a leader in semiconductor research and education. Earlier this year, it launched the Center for Advanced Semiconductor Technologies to bring together researchers to advance microelectronics research while training the next generation of leaders and engineers for the semiconductor industry.