Austin, TX

How UT and Austin Community College are helping tackle semiconductor workforce needs

Published

2 weeks ago

April 18, 2024

How UT and Austin Community College are helping tackle semiconductor workforce needs

When U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo came to Austin Community College on Monday, she recognized a student at the school.

“She shakes my hand and she’s like, ‘Wait, do I remember you?’” said Eriverto Adame, a student at ACC who wants to work as an engineer.

On Raimondo’s visit to the campus Monday, she was meeting with ACC and University of Texas students aspiring to work in the semiconductor industry to ask them how she could help, Adame said. This was Raimondo’s second visit to ACC in a little over a year to learn about the college’s growing semiconductor workforce programs.

More: Why Samsung semiconductor plant in Taylor is receiving $6.4 billion from federal CHIPS Act

“We have the best people in the background right now who are putting all their effort and even more to expand this group,” Adame said.

After a governmental push to bolster the industry, ACC and the University of Texas announced in late March that they are developing a joint semiconductor training center and semiconductor curriculum and credentialing to create more education pathways to help fill jobs in the growing field.

Before stopping at ACC on Monday, Raimondo was in Taylor with other officials to announce a deal between the Biden administration and semiconductor production giant Samsung that would give $6.4 billion to the corporation’s still-under-construction manufacturing facility northeast of Austin.

Semiconductors enable modern technology in everything from a calculator to gaming systems, said Laura Marmolejo, associate dean of advanced manufacturing at ACC.

By 2030, the nation’s semiconductor workforce is projected to grow by 115,000 jobs, according to a July 2023 study by economic research consulting group Oxford Economics. It estimated that 58% of new jobs won’t be filled if degree completion rates stay the same — including technicians, computer scientists and engineers.

National security and the hardware behind artificial intelligence both rely on semiconductors, making it a national priority to address rising work needs internally instead of outsourcing jobs, said S.V. Sreenivasan, a professor in UT’s Cockrell School of Engineering.

“This is not only a fast-growing industry (that) creates well-paying jobs, but it’s strategically important for our commerce and our national security,” Sreenivasan said. “We either will lead or will follow, and you know what is the obvious thing to do.”

Sreenivasan led a task force at UT created in 2021 to bolster Austin’s semiconductor manufacturing as U.S. lawmakers from Texas were working on the CHIPS and Science Act, a bill President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022 that set aside $280 billion to address the shortage of microchips, an essential part of the manufacturing process.

After Texas passed its own CHIPS Act in 2023 to support and encourage companies and universities to invest in semiconductor innovation, Sreenivasan also served on the governor’s Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium.

“I’ve never seen this kind of collaboration to emphasize workforce,” Sreenivasan said. “We know the numbers that are needed and I think the plans are getting in place to go execute (and) make it happen.”

Marmolejo said ACC has been supporting the industry for 10 years. But with UT’s partnership, it’ll be able to expand hands-on opportunities for students in process training that used to be cost-prohibitive for ACC to provide alone.

Alyssa Reinhart, workforce development director at the Texas Institute for Electronics at UT, said the semiconductor training center, which could launch as early as January 2025, will have a physical space. Students will also take advantage of resources like the chip facility at UT’s J.J. Pickle Research Campus and a semiconductor plant on Montopolis Drive, which is currently under renovation.

The Texas Institute for Electronics, a public-private partnership created at UT which received $522 million in funding from the state, will provide $3.75 million to develop the new semiconductor training center, according to UT’s news release about the partnership.

Reinhart said the new joint UT-ACC program will work with industry partners to address the broad spectrum of jobs in the industry.

“We’re trying to align to the hiring cycles and with what company needs are,” Reinhart said.

In addition to the joint announcement, UT is also planning to launch a master’s degree in engineering with a major in semiconductor science and engineering. Reinhart said UT is also working on developing a minor.

Both higher education institutions are working to increase awareness of the forthcoming opportunities. Sreenivasan said UTeach, a program that prepares STEM-interested undergraduates to be teachers, has added semiconductors to the program. Reinhart said she is also working on involving K-12 education partners.

“People say we don’t have enough people to train for this industry,” Marmolejo said. “There are people, we just have to find a way to engage them with the educational systems with the jobs.”

Adame, who first enrolled at ACC in 2018 to pursue an associate’s degree, is now back at the college to pursue a bachelor’s degree. He got involved in semiconductor workforce training through a Samsung program that put him on a path to the associate’s degree at ACC after he graduated high school.

He said ACC’s and UT’s investment in semiconductor training is helping him “tremendously.” Pursuing this career path, he said, has opened his curiosity and potential.

“It’s changed my life drastically, not only a career change, but also a mental change,” Adame said. “Being in the semiconductor field … there’s just endless possibilities of learning.”

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Austin, TX

HSEM Hosts Ready Together, a Basic Emergency Preparedness Training for Wildfire

Published

5 hours ago

May 1, 2024

Press Room

HSEM Hosts Ready Together, a Basic Emergency Preparedness Training for Wildfire

The City of Austin Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) is hosting an emergency preparedness training class. The course is developed in partnership with Austin Fire Department Wildfire Division, Ascension Seton, and Go Austin/Vamos Austin (GAVA).

Event: Ready Together: Basic Emergency Preparedness for You, Your Family & Your Neighborhood (Classroom Training)
Time: Thursday, May 9, 2024, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Location: Spicewood Springs Branch Library, 8637 Spicewood Springs, Austin, TX 78759

Attendees must register for the class to attend. Click here to reserve a spot. Pizza and beverages will be provided. Kindly RSVP for an accurate headcount.

This free, 2-hour course is open to community members, regardless of preparedness knowledge. The course will provide an introduction from the experts on how to practice the four steps of emergency preparedness: make a plan, build a kit, know your neighbors, and stay informed. Attendees will gain practical knowledge on how to prepare their home, family, and community for a variety of hazards.

This is the third time the class has been offered. While HSEM takes an all-hazards training approach, this installment will focus on wildfire preparedness. May is Wildfire Safety Month. Central Texas is heading into peak season for wildfire risk and now is the time to prepare yourself and your family.

Participants who complete the course will receive a free emergency preparedness starter kit and NOAA weather radio. Interpreters will be available on-site in Spanish and American Sign Language. Other languages can be requested during registration.

Austin HSEM has two remaining Ready Together course dates scheduled quarterly throughout 2024. Future training dates and more information on how to prepare can be found at www.ReadyCentralTexas.org.

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Austin, TX

Over half arrested in UT pro-Palestinian protests had no campus ties, school officials say

Published

12 hours ago

May 1, 2024

Press Room

Over half arrested in UT pro-Palestinian protests had no campus ties, school officials say

Over half of the people arrested Monday at a University of Texas at Austin pro-Palestinian demonstration had no campus ties, according to UT and campus officials.

A university statement Tuesday stated 79 people were arrested, and 45 of them had “no affiliation with UT Austin.” It’s not clear what charges they’re facing.

“These numbers validate our concern that much of the disruption on campus over the past week has been orchestrated by people from outside the University, including groups with ties to escalating protests at other universities around the country,” a statement noted.

Following a nationwide trend of protests on college campuses, two large demonstrations have taken place on UT Austin’s campus in the last week, one Monday and another April 24, as people have rallied to protest the war in Gaza and demand the university system divest from weapon manufacturers. Concerns have been raised among free-speech advocates as dozens of state troopers have made arrests on campus.

On Monday, demonstrators began setting up an encampment on the South Lawn before campus police issued an order to disperse.

Officials say weapons, including guns, buckets of large rocks, bricks, steel-enforced wood planks, mallets and chains, have been confiscated from protesters. Officials allege that staff have been physically assaulted and threatened, and “police have been headbutted and hit with horse excrement, while their police cars have had tires slashed with knives.”

Officials believe these actions are orchestrated and led by people outside the university. They noted in the statement they will continue “to safeguard the free speech and assembly rights of everyone on our campus, while we protect our university and students who are preparing for their final exams.”

Kevin Eltife, chairman of the UT System’s Board of Regents, said in his own statement Wednesday that “any attempt to shut down or disrupt UT operations will not be tolerated.” He said free speech is violated when it includes threats to campus safety and security “or refusal to comply with institutional policies and laws.”

Eltife said he has been working with UT Austin President Jay Hartzell and that officials will not “acquiesce” on decisions to protect the campus community. The chairman added that officials will continue to call upon the state’s Department of Public Safety when needed.

Gov. Greg Abbott posted on social media last week that “students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.” The governor issued an executive order in March aimed at fighting what his office called an increase in antisemitism at Texas’ colleges and universities.

A post from DPS last week noted state troopers responded to the campus April 24 at the request of Abbott. Those arrested last week faced charges of criminal trespassing, but Travis County prosecutors declined the charges. The Palestine Solidarity Committee was suspended for allegedly violating university rules, according to a UT spokesperson.

Nationwide demonstrations have taken place since Oct. 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing an estimated 1,200 people and taking over 200 hostage. In the months that have followed, Israel has bombed the Gaza Strip in retaliation, killing over 34,000 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in West Bank. The Dallas Morning News cannot independently verify these numbers.

Last week, about 100 students at UT Dallas occupied the administration building for several hours also calling for officials to pull university investments from companies supplying weapons to the conflict in Gaza.

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Austin, TX

Bearkats to battle Texas over in Austin tonight

Published

20 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Press Room

Bearkats to battle Texas over in Austin tonight

HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston Bearkats will look to put an end to a four-game skid on Tuesday night when they head to Austin to battle the Texas Longhorns at Disch-Falk Field.

Midweek Preview: at Texas Sam Houston (24-20, 7-11 CUSA) at Texas (27-18, 13-8 Big 12) Disch-Falk Field (Austin) Tuesday, April 30 | 6:30 PM | Longhorn Network

Projected Starters

SHSU: LHP Gavi Coldiron (3-4, 5.52 ERA, 45.2 IP, 30 K, 11 BB)

TEXAS: RHP Charlie Hurley (3-0, 6.67 ERA, 29.2 IP, 25 K, 19 BB)

Tuesday’s game on the Longhorn Network with Keith Moreland and Greg Swindell on the call.

SERIES NOTES vs TEXAS – The Kats have dropped 10 games in a row to the Longhorns dating back through the 2016 season and are just 4-30 in Sam Houston’s Division I era (since 1987)

– The last time Sam Houston got a win over Texas was on April 14, 2015 when Alex Bisacca and Jordan Church combined to shut out Texas by a 5-0 count. That season was the first year after David Pierce’s departure from Huntsville for Tulane, with current SHSU head coach Jay Sirianni in the Bearkat dugout in his first year as pitching coach.

– Of the 34 games played in the SHSU Division I era between the schools, 30 have been played at Disch-Falk Field. Two have also been played at Minute Maid Park, and two in Huntsville.

BEARKAT QUICK HITTERS – The Kats are coming off a tough week with a loss at Baylor and a sweep at the hands of Louisiana Tech, all on the road.

– In Sam Houston’s series at LA Tech, the Kats lost the 3 games by only a combined 6 runs. Half of that total came in Sunday’s series finale on a walk-off, 3-run homer by LA Tech’s Adarius Myers in the 10th inning.

– Jeffrey David enters Tuesday with a team-best, 15-game hitting streak and has reached in 19 games overall. It is the second-longest hit streak by a Kat this year, only behind the 23-gamer put together by Walker Janek to open the season.

– Tuesday will mark the final true road midweek game of the year for Sam Houston, with only a neutral-site clash with Houston at Constellation Field in Sugar Land on May 14 remaining.

– Sam Houston will be searching for its first road midweek win of the year on Tuesday at Texas. Currently the Kats are 0-6 in road midweeks, while being 6-0 in midweek games played at Don Sanders Stadium in Huntsville.

A LOOK AT THE LONGHORNS – The Longhorns have won five of their last six games, including each of their last two weekend series over TCU and most recently Oklahoma. – Texas swept both ends of a Sunday doubleheader to capture its series against the Sooners, pulling to within two games of OU in the Big 12 standings. – Texas had dropped consecutive midweek games at Disch-Falk Field to Texas State and UTRGV before shutting out UT Arlington a week ago.

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