SCHUMER, MICRON, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ANNOUNCE FORMATION OF NORTHEAST UNIVERSITY SEMICONDUCTOR NETWORK – A FIRST OF ITS KIND PARTNERSHIP TO BUILD WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE IN CNY AND ACROSS UPSTATE NY; WITH MAJOR INVESTMENT FROM MICRON AND OTHER COMPANIES ON THE HORIZON, SCHUMER PUSHES FEDS TO SUPERCHARGE INVESTMENT TO TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF WORKERS FOR THOUSANDS OF NEW MANUFACTURING JOBS IN UPSTATE NY

New Public-Private Partnership is made possible through Schumer’s CHIPS & Science Bill, Will Bring Together 20+ Universities, Community Colleges, And Local Partners To Create Workforce Pipeline To Fill Thousands Of Good-Paying Jobs And Supercharge Bringing Manufacturing Back To America

With Billions of Fed $$$ Available Through Historic  CHIPS & Science Bill, Schumer Personally Brings Head Of National Science Foundation Together With Micron Top Brass To Plan How To Train CNY Residents To Build The Future Of Technology Here In Upstate NY

Schumer: Together We Will Train The Next Generation Of CNY Workers For Micron, And Give Communities $$$ They Need To Make Upstate New York A Global Center Of Manufacturing And Innovation

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, along with Micron and the National Science Foundation today announced the formation of the Northeast University Semiconductor Network, a groundbreaking initiative bringing together 20+ universities to form a training pipeline to build the future of the semiconductor industry in Central New York.  Following his personal invitation, Schumer also brought one of the federal government’s top science officials, Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), to meet with local stakeholder to plan and prepare Central New York’s workforce to build the future of technology. Schumer explained that his CHIPS and Science Act authorizes billions in new investment for the NSF’s STEM workforce training and education programs, and the senator wants those federal dollars to be used to prepare the next generation of workers for the thousands of good-paying construction, manufacturing, and innovation jobs on the horizon.

“Now that Central New York has landed the largest investment in U.S. history, it’s all-hands-on-deck to prepare a new generation of workers to fill the tens of thousands of new construction, manufacturing, and innovation jobs that Micron’s $100 billion project will create in Syracuse and across Upstate New York. When I wrote the CHIPS and Science bill, new groundbreaking partnerships like the Northeast University Semiconductor Network, between companies like Micron and university leaders were at the top of my mind to provide the necessary federal investment for training workers for jobs of the future,” said Senator Schumer. “Billions are available because of the legislation I authored for Central community colleges, universities, and state and local partners to train workers of all ages and backgrounds, for the growing semiconductor industry in Central New York. That is why I am proud to bring one of the federal government’s top scientific minds, Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, who is in charge of investing these funds around the country, to CNY to see firsthand how Upstate NY is uniquely suited to bring manufacturing back to America and power the nation’s technological leadership for decades to come.”

Schumer said the Northeast University Semiconductor Network will expand and prepare the next generation of talent, through traditional and nontraditional pathways into the semiconductor industry. The groundbreaking initiative brings together 20+ founding partners with strong undergraduate and graduate programs in engineering and other STEM degrees from top tier New York higher education institutions including the entire SUNY and CUNY systems, Syracuse University, Cornell University, Clarkson University, New York University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, Barnard College, and other renowned programs at institutions like Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with Micron and the NSF soliciting more for other higher education institutions to help this industry grow even more. This program is a direct result of the expansion of the NSF to include a new Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships Directorate, a Schumer-authored provision included in his original Endless Frontier Act that because the CHIPS and Science Act that passed into law, and builds on the $10 million announced earlier this year for Micron and the NSF to boost semiconductor curricula in colleges and universities across the country. Institutions in the Northeast University Semiconductor Network will collaborate with Micron and the NSF to modernize curriculum, create greater access to cleanroom and teaching labs, and bolster both public research and research opportunities for students, preparing them for good-paying jobs bringing this industry back to America.

“It is an honor to have U.S. Senate Majority Leader Schumer, NSF Director Dr. Panchanathan and many partners from the Northeast’s remarkable institutions of higher education in Syracuse today to announce the Northeast University Semiconductor Network,” said Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra. “Cultivating and supporting collaboration between institutions of higher education will be instrumental in developing the diverse and robust STEM talent pipeline that is required for Micron’s leading-edge memory manufacturing here in Central New York.”

Schumer explained that his bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act is already spurring major investment across Upstate New York, including Micron’s historic $100 billion proposed investment in Central New York, along with other major investments from companies like Wolfspeed in the Mohawk Valley, Edwards Vacuum in Western New York, GlobalFoundries in the Capital Region, and IBM and onsemi in the Hudson Valley. Critically, included in the CHIPS and Science Act is a major infusion of investment in the NSF’s STEM workforce training and education programs, including $200 million dedicated specifically to preparing workers for the semiconductor and broader microelectronics industries. Schumer also secured in last year’s omnibus a historic increase in funding for the NSF to implement training programs through community colleges and universities. That is why Schumer said bringing NSF Director, Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, personally to Syracuse is so important to show how the community is primed for federal investment and to hear from stakeholders and university leaders firsthand.

Schumer added, “Micron's $100 billion investment in Central New York, spurring up to 50,000 good paying jobs, will be transformational and will make the region a global powerhouse in the semiconductor industry. But for this project to succeed, we need to get to get the federal dollars to train and put Central New Yorkers to work.”  

“At the core of NSF’s priorities is a commitment to building strong partnerships across government, industry, and academia to create powerful innovation ecosystems across the country. It is the strength of these collaborations combined with the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act that will lead us to solutions to society’s most pressing issues. I want to thank Leader Schumer for his steadfast support of NSF and our critical mission. Together, our collective impact will continue to create change at speed and scale and fuel exciting discoveries, innovations and jobs for decades to come,” said NSF Director Dr. Panchanathan.

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, Empire State Development shares the priorities of the National Science Foundation, especially by supporting and fostering new innovations throughout the state that creates good paying, equitable careers for all New Yorkers. I want to thank Majority Leader Schumer and National Science Foundation Director Seuthuraman Panchanathan for their focus on this important issue as we work together to attract and grow the workforce of the future in the Empire State.”

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said, "With Micron preparing to make a historic investment in Onondaga County, it is critical that we make investments in the future workforce that Micron will need. From Kindergarten to high school, we must make sure that our children learn the skills today that they will need to have a successful future." McMahon continued, "Thanks to Senator Schumer and the historic funding provided by the National Science Foundation, our many local community partners will have access to the funding necessary to start cultivating the next generation workforce and ensure that every member of our community has the opportunity to be part of this next chapter in our community's story."

"Micron's historic investment in Central New York, and their unprecedented commitments to equity and inclusion in their hiring practices, offer us a unique opportunity to make high tech jobs available to individuals and  communities that have been historically left behind," said Robert Simpson, President and CEO of CenterState CEO. "Working together with our community partners, CenterState CEO is excited to help build a new model for inclusive workforce development in high tech manufacturing."

Schumer said that now he has brought the NSF Director to the region to see firsthand the excitement and vast coalition coming together to build the region’s incredible workforce, he will now be fighting tooth and nail to bring back federal dollars to supercharge training programs to fill good-paying jobs at Micron and beyond. Schumer said this training and education investment is essential to the success of Micron’s investment and to solidifying Upstate NY’s standing as a global manufacturing hub. 

Last year, Schumer secured $9.87 billion for the National Science Foundation through an end-of-the-year spending package. The omnibus included an increase of over $1 billion for the NSF, the largest dollar increase for NSF in history, providing funds to begin implementation of the NSF STEM training and education programs Schumer authorized in the CHIPS and Science Act. Schumer is also pushing for $11.3 billion in funding for the NSF that was included in President Biden’s budget for Fiscal Year 2024, a $1.43 billion increase from Fiscal Year 2023 that would build onto the historic funding Schumer secured last year as outlined in his CHIPS And Science Act.  This investment is on top of the $200 million appropriated in the CHIPS and Science Act for the CHIPS for America Workforce and Education Fund for the NSF to kick start development of the domestic semiconductor workforce, which faces near-term labor shortages.                                                      

Schumer said this surge of funding will be important for workforce training in the semiconductor industry, as well as other innovation industries in Central New York and beyond like quantum computing, AI, clean energy, and more. These programs will ensure we put Upstate New Yorkers to work in these good-paying jobs to make sure the hundreds of billions of dollars in proposed investment in new manufacturing and R&D in Upstate New York is a success.

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