The Idaho Workforce Development Council awarded Boise State faculty in the Center for Advanced Energy Studies with an Industry Sector Grant. The grant will support workforce development in Idaho for the advanced manufacturing sector, an emerging field that uses information technology and other technological innovations to develop more efficient and sophisticated manufacturing processes.
The group hopes their work will position Idaho as an advanced manufacturing leader. This grant comes on the heels of a $15 billion Micron investment in a new semiconductor facility in Boise – the kind of advanced manufacturing facilities the project will support.
The project’s principal investigators are:
- Josh Eixenberger, assistant research professor in the Department of Physics
- David Estrada, associate professor at the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering and the center’s associate director
- Amy Moll, director and professor at the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering
- Todd Otanicar, chair and professor in the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering
- Tony Varghese, research staff at the Advanced Nanomaterials and Manufacturing Laboratory
These investigators will develop short courses alongside Idaho industry partners. These one-credit courses will train Idaho workers in advanced manufacturing processes for next-generation materials, biomedical engineering and extreme environments. The grant will also support outreach programs for Idaho K-12 students, promoting awareness for aerospace engineering careers and launching the next generation of advanced manufacturing professionals in Idaho.
The grant will fund three graduate students and a lecturer to help develop and teach the courses. It includes $584,000 for the first year with the opportunity to renew for an additional two years for $1 million total.