Scott Bukowski has watched the semiconductor industry evolve and his career within it.
As a scientist, new business developer, and researcher, Bukowski 92 (Microelectronics Engineering) brings more than 30 years of experience to his new role leading the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC). As its capability director, Bukowski coordinates national research efforts to advance semiconductor technology.
“This is a great industry. To students wondering if they’re in the right place, including you. No one could have imagined that semiconductors would be so ubiquitous today,” Bukowski said. “Today’s cell phones have beautiful industrial designs, but they actually contain dozens of chips. Unless you’re exposed to them, you don’t necessarily know how all the chips in your computer work together. I guess.”
As an undergraduate at RIT, Bukowski learned first-hand how chips and other components in devices work together. He took advantage of IBM’s co-op and worked there after graduation.
Based at the IBM Research Center in Yorktown Heights, Mr. Bukovsky first worked in the DRAM and lithography development division and later assumed leadership responsibilities in IBM’s worldwide sales organization. He then joined Global Foundries, an international chip manufacturing and manufacturing company, where he led the company’s aerospace and defense programs, and then joined silicon and systems design company Synopsys. Over the next few years, he was involved in all aspects of the semiconductor industry as a whole.
“I spent years in research and development, which was a great experience. Then I worked in manufacturing and saw firsthand how difficult it is to make chips,” he said, adding that at the time, the process It would have been more cost-effective to outsource parts of the project, he added.
The pandemic was a pivotal moment, highlighting concerns based on the shortage of manufactured semiconductors, the technological limitations of materials, and the need to explore alternatives.
The CHIP Act of 2022 is a $52 billion, three-part legislative investment that represents a major financial, manufacturing, and research commitment to the nation’s economic and security needs. $39 billion of that supports manufacturing institutions and focuses directly on supply chains. $11 billion for research and development and another $2 billion for the Department of Defense’s Microelectronics Commons. All programs have a workforce development aspect.
“In building this ecosystem for the U.S., this incentive part of the Chip Act is really about capacity. How do we build capacity?” Bukowski said that multiple NSTC programs He said he will oversee and work with partner programs such as the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program, a center focused on electronic packaging.
“Today’s packaging has the same challenges as wafer-based processing because much of it is based overseas,” he said. “It’s important to bring it back to land.”
By the end of the decade, the semiconductor industry could become a $1 trillion-a-year market. Memory is one of the biggest factors in prediction as it relates to artificial intelligence (AI).
“AI comes out of the blue and all of a sudden there’s a sudden surge in demand. These are the cutting-edge chips that are driving AI and quantum technology,” he said.
RIT is well positioned to meet this demand. Memory, storage capacity, and memory cells in integrated circuits are just some of the important areas taught and further researched by university faculty. In September, RIT became one of the first recipients of NSTC’s Workforce Development Initiative.
When Bukowski was first exploring universities in the early 1990s, he thought microelectronics “sounded kind of cool.” Today, aiming for global dominance in cutting-edge semiconductors through microelectronics and manufacturing innovation is key. Bukovsky is playing a major role in pushing toward that goal.
“Research and development, innovation and awards are all about the longevity of the American ecosystem,” he said. “We are seeing government and industry stakeholders coming together to undertake transformational work for the industry on a scale not seen in a long time.”
