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UCLA is joining a major new regional initiative to strengthen the semiconductor and microelectronics workforce pipeline across the Southwest.
The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), in partnership with the National Network for Microelectronics Education (NNME), SEMI Foundation and the National Science Foundation (NSF), recently announced the designation of NNME Southwest as an official NNME Regional Node – one of the nation’s anchor hubs for semiconductor workforce development.
The regional node at UCLA will be co-led by the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA.
The new five-state consortium brings together 47 partners across Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Southern California to expand industry-aligned education, hands-on training and career pathways in semiconductor manufacturing and microelectronics.
As part of the Southern California network within NNME Southwest, UCLA will help coordinate industry-aligned curriculum and hands-on laboratory training for community college students and continuing education learners preparing for careers in semiconductor manufacturing. The effort will be led by C.K. Ken Yang, the Tatsuo Itoh Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCLA Samueli.
“UCLA is looking forward to contributing to NNME Southwest and coordinating the hands-on training of semiconductor manufacturing for industry readiness to community college students across the Southern California region,” said Yang, who is a core faculty member of the newly launched, industry-backed Semiconductor Hub at UCLA Samueli.
Building on UCLA’s existing workforce development initiatives, the university will expand its semiconductor manufacturing training modules through the UCLA Nanofabrication Laboratory (UCLA NanoLab) and CNSI.
These industry-informed modules combine virtual instruction with immersive cleanroom laboratory experiences that provide students with practical training in semiconductor fabrication processes, safety, lithography, metrology, deposition, etching and related advanced manufacturing techniques.
UCLA has already developed several stackable semiconductor manufacturing modules that include Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-approved microcredentials and hands-on nanofabrication training designed specifically for community college students entering the semiconductor workforce. Through NNME Southwest, UCLA plans to scale these offerings regionally by partnering with institutions including UC Santa Barbara, USC, UC Irvine, UC Riverside and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
“The initiative aims to address one of the region’s most pressing workforce challenges: providing coordinated, industry-aligned semiconductor manufacturing education alongside meaningful hands-on cleanroom experience,” said Adam Stieg, associate director of CNSI at UCLA, and director of the CNSI Technology Centers.
Southern California represents one of the nation’s largest and most diverse microelectronics ecosystems, with major aerospace, defense, semiconductor and technology companies operating throughout the region. Industry leaders including Boeing, Broadcom, HRL Laboratories, Northrop Grumman, Qualcomm, RTX, SpaceX and many others rely on advanced semiconductor technologies for critical systems and next-generation innovation.
Through NNME Southwest, UCLA will also serve as a coordinating hub connecting students with training opportunities, internships, and workforce pathways across the regional semiconductor ecosystem. The university expects the expanded program to support up to 14 training cohorts annually, providing approximately 140–170 student training opportunities each year.
The NNME initiative is supported by the National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Commerce, and operated by the SEMI Foundation to strengthen and scale America’s microelectronics workforce ecosystem nationwide.
