Experts forecast that in the coming years there will be tens of thousands more jobs in the semiconductor and microelectronics industry than people qualified to fill them. One way to help meet that future demand is by sparking interest and enthusiasm in young people to continue in STEM-focused education.

California DREAMS is conducting a pilot Cleanroom Gateway this summer for specialized learners and undergraduate students, with the goal of kickstarting a new pipeline of inspired and qualified workers by giving them their first experiences in a cleanroom setting.

California DREAMS is exploring its potential to combine the capabilities of its industry-leading institutions into one place. Seven university nanofabrication laboratories are a part of DREAMS, each with unique strengths that the superhub is working to standardize into a sum even greater than its parts.

Established at USC Viterbi’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI) in 1981, MOSIS revolutionized the world of silicon-based semiconductor manufacturing. Now, as the industry faces new challenges and opportunities, MOSIS is embarking on its next phase: MOSIS 2.0, a pioneering initiative at the heart of California DREAMS, the Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices SuperHub.

On May 15th and 16th, 2024, the California DREAMS hub held a two-day strategy meeting at USC’s Information Sciences Institute in Marina Del Rey, bringing together over 100 hub members from across Southern California to collaborate in-person for the first time.

“The idea of this hub is to put funding in place so that the university people working in the lab and the industry people that have the fabrication facility for production are working closely together, right at the beginning. So, when the technology breakthrough makes it past the lab, it’s already been experimented with in a way that was rigorous and harmonious with the fabrication facility, which can then pick that up and run with it."

Marking their first official site visit, a select group of government, industry, and academic leaders recently gathered at Northrop Grumman’s Space Park campus to discuss their role in a landmark effort to expand research, development, and production of essential advanced microelectronics technologies in the United States.

More than 75 people (in-person and virtually) gathered for the Inaugural Site Visit of the California DREAMS (Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices Superhub) on Jan. 22 at Northrop Grumman’s Space Park campus in Redondo Beach, CA. Academic researchers, industry leaders and government officials met to present their vision, exchange ideas, tour facilities and prepare for a busy first year of the initiative.

The U.S. Department of Defense granted $26.9 million to 16 academic institutions and other organizations, including the University of California, Irvine, to launch California DREAMS, the California Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices Superhub. The initiative’s lead institution is the University of Southern California.

The University of California San Diego is a key member of this coalition of research and industry organizations with the power to accelerate the development and manufacturing of microelectronics in the United States.