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.

UC Santa Barbara will play a key role in the United States’ effort to bolster semiconductor manufacturing and development and its competitiveness in the global market.

The UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA are part of the effort to accelerate the development of domestic manufacturing of microelectronics.

The funds for the Microelectronics Commons project support a USC-led hub involving 16 other university, community college and corporate collaborators.