Lam Research is joining forces with NY Creates, the nonprofit behind Albany NanoTech, North America’s most advanced 300mm semiconductor R&D complex to train roughly 3,500 students in semiconductor process integration over the next five years.
The program will deploy Lam’s SEMulator3D® virtual fabrication software, part of its Semiverse® Solutions portfolio, across NY Creates’ network of colleges and universities in the Northeast.
Instead of relying on costly cleanrooms and physical wafers, students will get hands-on experience designing, analyzing, and optimizing chip manufacturing flows through physics-based simulation.
Addressing The Talent gap
The semiconductor industry is grappling with a widening talent gap. Next-generation chip technologies demand engineers who understand process integration but most universities can’t afford the fab equipment, materials, and facilities needed to teach it.
SEMulator3D is said to change that. The platform virtually replicates fabrication steps like etch, deposition, and lithography, letting students visualize how individual process decisions interact and what tradeoffs they create.
Now learners can move beyond memorizing what happens in a fab to understanding why specific process choices are made, accelerating their readiness for real-world chip manufacturing at current and future nodes.
Program Goals
The collaboration is designed to:
- Expand curriculum: Build coursework aligned with advanced logic technologies and modern fabrication flows.power
- Scale virtual learning: Deliver hands-on training in complex device architectures across NY Creates’ workforce development network.power
- Support regional workforce goals: Align with state and regional initiatives, including the National Network for Microelectronics Education (NNME) Northeast. As the NNME Regional Node lead, NY Creates coordinates collaboration and industry alignment across the broader Northeast ecosystem.
By embedding industry-grade virtual tools into academic programs, the partnership aims to close the experience gap and help build the next generation of semiconductor engineers without requiring access to a physical cleanroom.
Leadership Comments
“Preparing the next generation of semiconductor engineers requires more than classroom instruction; students need practical experience with the complex process decisions that shape how advanced chips are made,” said David Fried, chief AI officer and corporate vice president for Semiverse Solutions at Lam Research. “Through this collaboration, access to Lam’s SEMulator3D virtual fabrication platform is expected to help students build the critical process integration skills that complex chipmaking demands before they set foot in a fab.”
“Lam Research’s Semiverse Solutions bring world-class virtual fabrication capabilities directly into our partner institutions,” said Dr. Robert Geer, NY Creates Vice President for Education and Workforce Development. “This collaboration enables students across the Northeast to access immersive, hands-on learning that directly prepares them for careers in advanced semiconductor manufacturing and strengthens the regional talent pipeline that our ecosystem needs.”
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