As CA DREAMS’ semiconductor fabrication service transitions to full-scale operations, Rehan Kapadia, a longtime faculty contributor and director of the USC John O’Brien Nanofabrication Laboratory, is named the new Director of MOSIS 2.0. Kapadia brings a strong vision for advancing MOSIS 2.0’s mission to accelerate semiconductor prototyping.

In 2025, MOSIS 2.0, is significantly expanding its semiconductor prototyping capabilities beyond Southern California to include technologies from two additional technology hubs: the Southwest Advanced Prototyping (SWAP) Hub, led by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University, and the Midwest Microelectronics Consortium (MMEC) Hub in Ohio.

CA DREAMS hosted a distinguished delegation from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) at the University of Southern California. The visit marked a step toward deepening commercial and technological ties between the U.S. and Taiwan—particularly in the fields of semiconductors and microelectronics.

UC San Diego’s work is part of the California DREAMS hub, a Southern California regional coalition of universities, contractors and workforce-development organizations led by the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and its Information Sciences Institute (ISI).

Over four decades, MOSIS delivered more than 60,000 integrated circuit designs and generated up to $10 million annually at its peak. Now, its successor, MOSIS 2.0, is advancing this legacy to address the next-generation of chip innovation.

For its second year of operation, hub partner Northrop Grumman leads two major projects: one aims to develop a next-generation semiconductor material known as gallium nitride (GaN), and the other aims to create advanced prototypes for faster, more reliable, next-generation wireless networks.

Last year IEEE collaborated with the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, and the California DREAMS on a microcredentialing program to give learners industry-relevant skills in semiconductor fabrication.

The Department of Defense has awarded an additional $27 million from the CHIPS & Science Act to CA DREAMS. This continued investment will further support CA DREAMS in advancing U.S. semiconductor capabilities by expanding its infrastructure, operations, and workforce development.

In an effort to create non-traditional pathways into the semiconductor and microelectronics workforce, the California Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices Superhub (CA DREAMS) can now award microcredentials certified by IEEE to fellows and undergraduate students who complete its Cleanroom Gateway training program.

California DREAMS provided training and internships to two undergraduate cohorts this summer. The program exposes students to research faculty laboratories earlier in their academic studies; advises students on what companies to apply for after they have completed the program; and counsels students on what courses they should take to continue forward in the field.