REU Site: InSPiRES: Integrated Circuits and Semiconductor Processes to Promote Responsible Engineering and Sustainability

About This Grant

This three-year REU Site: InSPiRES: Integrated Circuits and Semiconductor Processes to Promote Responsible Engineering and Sustainability focuses on integrated circuits and semiconductor processes, emphasizing responsible engineering and sustainability, featuring projects drawn from biomedical engineering, civil, environmental, and geospatial engineering, chemical engineering, and electrical and computer engineering. A unique partnership with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community will provide environmental and cultural stewardship lessons for the REU students, along with various outreach activities. Eight students each year will engage in research projects featuring semiconductor processing with environmental sustainability through the remediation of contaminated wastewater from electronic manufacturing. The program will allow students to explore critical issues in areas such as sustainable manufacturing, wastewater remediation, resource conservation, and environmental stewardship. Students will work on research projects that aim to improve the efficiency and sustainability of semiconductor manufacturing processes, recover valuable materials like copper from industrial waste, and develop innovative methods to treat and reuse contaminated water. These projects align with national priorities, such as advancing clean technologies, ensuring sustainable resource use, and promoting environmental resilience. The program addresses key issues such as technological advancement. As semiconductors are foundational to technologies like renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, and advanced communications, this project focuses on developing more sustainable and efficient manufacturing practices that support growth in these sectors. Integrating sustainability into engineering research, participants can learn about the environmental impacts of manufacturing, reducing waste, conserving resources, and ensuring cleaner water systems. The program goes beyond technical training by fostering cultural competence and environmental awareness by involving students in service-learning activities and partnerships with a tribal nation with deep commitments to land and water stewardship. This collaboration introduces students to Indigenous knowledge systems and underscores the importance of community- oriented research. This project provides students with opportunities to conduct meaningful, applied research, preparing them for graduate studies and professional careers in these STEM areas. This Site is supported in part by funds provided to the National Science Foundation by the Semiconductor Research Corporation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.