32 minute read
2023 Congressional Conference Program
ASU Charter
ASU is a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.
Welcome
Conference Host
Sally C. Morton
Executive Vice President, ASU Knowledge Enterprise
Sally Morton is the executive vice president of Arizona State University’s Knowledge Enterprise, which is responsible for the University’s research and economic development ecosystem. Morton advances research priorities, oversees ASU’s transdisciplinary institutes and initiatives, and drives corporate engagement and strategic partnerships, technology transfer, and international development. She is a professor in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences and the College of Health Solutions and holds the Florence Ely Nelson Chair.
Morton’s career has spanned both higher education and industry including being dean of the College of Science at Virginia Tech, vice president for statistics and epidemiology at RTI International and head of the RAND Corporation’s Statistics Group. She is internationally recognized in the use of statistics and data science to help patients, their families and providers make better health care decisions. She has been involved in projects across a wide range of topics, including health care quality, homelessness, mental health and substance abuse. Her methodological work focuses on evidence synthesis, particularly meta-analysis.
Morton was the 2009 president of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and received the Norwood Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Woman in the Statistical Sciences in 2017. She currently serves on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Center for Health Statistics, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Methodology Committee and the Research Advisory Committee of the National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research. Morton received a PhD in statistics from Stanford University.
Agenda
8:30 a.m. - Conference Registration and Check In
Memorial Union, Turquoise Ballroom
9:00 a.m. - Conference Opening & Welcome Remarks
Sally C. Morton, Executive Vice President, ASU Knowledge Enterprise
9:10 a.m. - Video Remarks
The Hon. Debbie Lesko, U.S. Representative, Arizona's Eighth Congressional District
9:15 a.m. - ASU Technology Fireside Chat
Moderator:
Sally Morton, Executive Vice President, ASU Knowledge Enterprise
Participants:
Krishnendu Chakrabarty, Professor, Microelectronics, Arizona State University
Sridhar Seetharaman, Professor , Engineering, Arizona State University
Dave White, Associate Vice President, Research Advancement, Arizona State University
10:00 a.m. - Special Guest Speaker
The Hon. Juan Ciscomani*, U.S. Representative, Arizona's Sixth Congressional District
10:15 a.m. - Developing Skilled Human Resource Assets for Thriving in Technological Revolutions
Moderator:
The Hon. Andy Biggs* U.S. Representative, Arizona’s Fifth Congressional District
Panelists:
Michael Cook, Global Director, Academic Enablement Group, Rockwell Automation
Anne Gielczyk, Vice President, NOCTI Business Solutions
Debra Volzer, Governments & Workforce Partnerships, Society of Manufacturing Engineers
John Zappa, Director of Product Management, The ARM Institute
11:15 a.m. - Networking Break
11:30 a.m. - Empowering Economic Growth: Resilient American Manufacturing
Moderator:
The Hon. Greg Stanton* U.S. Representative, Arizona’s Fourth Congressional District
Panelists:
Robert Bruck, Vice President, Corporate Business Development, Applied Materials, Inc.
Seema Phull, Chief Strategy Officer, Kore Power
Robert Sandoval, Environmental, Safety and Health Program Manager, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company
Brian Sherman, Chief Innovation Officer, Arizona Commerce Authority
12:25 p.m. - Video Remarks
The Hon. Mark Kelly, U.S. Senator, Arizona
12:30 p.m. - Networking Lunch
1:00 p.m. - University Remarks
Michael M. Crow, President, Arizona State University
1:45 p.m. - Keynote Address
The Hon. Katie Hobbs*, Governor, Arizona
2:00 p.m. - Networking Break
2:10 p.m. - Video Remarks
The Hon. Kyrsten Sinema, U.S. Senator, Arizona
2:15 p.m. - Strategic Supply Chains and the Role of Tech Hubs
Moderator:
John Fowler, Professor, Supply Chain Management, Arizona State University
Panelists:
Mani Janakiram, Data Analytics Executive, Intel Corporation
Jennifer Mellor, Chief Innovation Officer, Greater Phoenix Chamber
Raghu Santanam, Senior Associate Dean & Professor, Arizona State University
3:15 p.m. - Closing Remarks & Conference Conclusion
Sally Morton, Executive Vice President, ASU Knowledge Enterprise
*Invited
The Honorable Debbie Lesko
Arizona’s 8th Congressional District
U.S. House of Representatives
Congresswoman Debbie Lesko represents Arizona’s 8th Congressional District and was recently reelected for her third full term. Lesko serves on House Committee on Energy and Commerce as the Vice Chair for the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Lesko also serves on the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security, Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce, and House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Lesko founded the Protect Kids Caucus and also serves as a Co-Chair of the Women in STEM Caucus, the Values Action Team, the Congressional Western Caucus, and also as member of the Republican Study Committee’s Steering Committee.
Prior to her role in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Lesko served in the Arizona Legislature for nine years – the last three of which were in the Arizona Senate. She served as Senate President Pro-Tempore and Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. She was honored by numerous organizations during her time at the Arizona Legislature, including, “Champion of the Taxpayer,” “Guardian of Small Business,” and “Senator of the Year.” Congresswoman Lesko received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin.
ASU Technology Fireside Chat
Participants
Krishnendu Chakrabarty
Professor, Microelectronics
Arizona State University
Krishnendu Chakrabarty received the B. Tech. degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, and M.S.E. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan. He is now the Fulton Professor of Microelectronics in the School of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU), a member of the DARPA Microsystems Exploratory Council, a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), a Fellow of ACM, IEEE, and AAAS, and a Golden Core Member of the IEEE Computer Society. Previously, Prof. Chakrabarty was the John Cocke Distinguished Professor and Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University. He was also a Visiting Professor at NVIDIA. Prof. Chakrabarty’s current research focuses on design-for-testability of 2.5D/3D integrated circuits; hardware security; failure prediction using AI/ML;AI accelerators; microfluidic biochips; AI for healthcare; neuromorphic computing systems and has collaborated extensively with the semiconductor industry.
Sridhar Seetharaman
Professor, Engineering
Arizona State University
Professor Seetharaman joined ASU from the faculty at the Colorado School of Mines where he served as the associate vice president for research and technology transfer. Throughout his career, Seetharaman has successfully built strategic partnerships and executed key initiatives across industry, government and the academic community. In 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy selected Arizona State University to establish a new Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute devoted to the challenge of fighting greenhouse gas emissions from industrial process heating. ASU will lead the multi-institution effort known as Electrified Processes for Industry Without Carbon, or EPIXC, directed by Seetharaman. Seetharaman received his Ph.D. in Materials science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology.
Dave White
Associate Vice President, Research & Advancement
Arizona State University
Dave White is the Associate Vice President of Research Advancement at ASU Knowledge Enterprise, where he advances research strategy for the JulieAnn Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory (GFL). White also serves as Director of the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation and holds the rank of Professor in the School of Community Resources and Development, in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. White served as Interim Director of the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Service from 2020-2022. From 2012-2021, he was Principal Investigator and Director of the NSF-funded Decision Center for a Desert City (DCDC). White was an inaugural fellow of the PLuS Alliance, a Senior Global Futures Scientist in the JulieAnn Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, and an inaugural fellow of the Global Security Initiative at ASU. White received his B.A. in History from George Mason University, M.S. in Resource Recreation and Tourism from the University of Idaho, and Ph.D. in Forestry from Virginia Tech.
The Honorable Juan Ciscomani
Arizona’s 6th Congressional District
U.S. House of Representatives
Congressman Juan Ciscomani represents Arizona’s 6th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. Juan and his family immigrated to the United States when he was a young boy establishing roots in Tucson, Arizona, where his father worked as a bus driver to give his children a shot at the American Dream. Growing up in a working class family taught Juan the value of hard work and the importance of a can-do attitude.
Juan attended public schools in Tucson, Pima Community College and the University of Arizona working his way through school with maintenance and service jobs until becoming the first in his family to graduate from college. After college, Juan worked for the University of Arizona and theTucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce before joining Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s administration as Senior Advisor and Vice-Chair of the Arizona-Mexico Commission. Juan focused on the issues of international trade and diplomacy, border security, and economic development.
In 2022, Juan was elected to represent Arizona’s 6th congressional district, becoming the first naturalized American citizen from Mexico elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in Arizona history. Juan serves on the House Appropriations Committee and Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Developing Skilled Human Resource Assets for Thriving in Technological Revolutions
In a rapidly evolving landscape driven by industrial and computing revolutions, the nature of employment undergoes constant transformation.This not only poses challenges to existing jobs but also opens up new and exciting opportunities. However, the accelerated pace of technological advancements leaves little time for traditional workforce development programs to catch up with the emerging skill demands.This panel discussion aims to explore the multifaceted implications of this paradigm shift, encompassing technical, social, and economic dimensions. Panelists will examine the urgent need for innovative workforce development initiatives capable of swiftly adapting to the surges of technology advancements. By shedding light on the challenges and opportunities presented by these revolutions, we will discuss strategies to nurture a skilled human resource base that can thrive in this rapidly changing landscape.
Moderator
The Honorable Andy Biggs
Arizona’s Fifth Congressional District,U.S. House of Representatives
Representative Biggs currently serves on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, where he is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance. From 2019 through 2021, he served as Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. He is currently co-chair of the Border Security Caucus, Vice Chair of the Congressional Western Caucus, and a co-founder of the bipartisan War Powers Caucus. Biggs received his B.A. in Asian Studies from Brigham Young University, his J.D. from University of Arizona, and his M.A. in Political Science from Arizona State University.
Panelists
Michael Cook
Global Director, Academic Enablement Group, Rockwell Automation
Michael Cook, Global Director at Rockwell Automation Academic Enablement Group, has broad corporate strategy and global business development experience. Prior to this, Mr. Cook worked for several years as a management and implementation consultant in diverse manufacturing environments such as automotive, food and beverage and heavy industries such as mining, primary and secondary Aluminum production, and supply chain and services in Africa. Rockwell Automation’s Academic Enablement group partners with Academia and industry eco-systems to reduce gaps between theory and application and inspire a future generation of engineers excited and capable with modern automation systems.
Anne Gielczyk
Vice President, NOCTI Business Solutions
Anne Gielczyk is the Vice President of Nocti Business Solutions (NBS), the business and industry counterpart to NOCTI.Together these two organizations provide assessment development, delivery, and data analysis and reporting services for secondary and post-secondary schools, private industry, and certification associations across the nation. Ms. Gielczyk's primary focus is working with business and industry to determine assessment and training needs to hire or promote the most qualified individuals for job openings. In addition, NBS works with post-secondary institutions that provide assessment services to business and industry in their communities and with workforce development organizations to provide tools needed to determine an individual’s employability skills.
Debra Volzer
Governments & Workforce Partnerships, Society of Manufacturing Engineers
Deb Volzer leads the national and state strategies to increase the reach of ongoing efforts and future aspirations in advancing SME’s workforce development goals. Volzer has over 15 years of experience working with national, state, and local government agencies to align workforce needs, and over 25 years working with higher education in identifying, aligning, and developing relevant programming focused on serving historically resilient populations. Previously, Volzer worked with global organizations including Wiley and Pearson and held administrative and teaching positions at the Ohio Board of Regents (OLN), the Ohio State University, Franklin University and Ohio Dominican University. Volzer holds degrees from the University of Kansas, The Ohio State University and Yale University.
John Zappa
Director of Product Management, The ARM Institute
John Zappa is the Director of Product Management at theAdvanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute where he is responsible for developing and promoting services in pursuit of the organization’s mission to train and empower the manufacturing workforce for careers in robotics. During his career, Zappa founded and served as CEO of EdLink, LLC a provider of tuition assistance management services. He created the industry’s first education network to address the rising cost of education for adult learners. Zappa began his career at IBM implementing robotics as a manufacturing engineer. He received his B.S. with University Honors in Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and his M.B.A. from Dartmouth College.
Empowering Economic Growth: Resilient American Manufacturing
In the dynamicArizona business climate, the interplay between local resources such as water, materials, and energy, as well as global supply chains, is crucial for fostering economic growth.Arizona is rapidly establishing itself as a global hub, bringing together manufacturing companies, governments, universities, researchers, and start-ups to showcase sustainable and resilient manufacturing practices. Join us for this panel discussion as we explore the unique strengths ofArizona's manufacturing ecosystem and its potential to lead the way in implementing sustainable strategies. Our panelists, representing various stakeholders, will delve into the innovative approaches, policies, and collaborations that underpin resilient manufacturing practices. We will examine how this emerging paradigm can empower economic growth, while concurrently addressing environmental concerns and promoting the efficient utilization of resources.
Moderator
The Honorable Greg Stanton
Arizona's Fourth Congressional District, U.S. House of Representatives
During his time in Congress, Representative Stanton has focused on increasing trade opportunities in Arizona, planning for the state’s water future, and investing in public transportation and infrastructure. His bill to create the Arizona Environmental Infrastructure Authority, which has now invested more than 30 million dollars to support water projects throughout the state, was signed into law. He has introduced bills to expand tourism in Arizona and add warning labels to addictive prescription opioids. Stanton is a member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee. He attended Marquette University on the Harry S. Truman Scholarship and earned a law degree from the University of Michigan.
Panelists
Robert Bruck
Vice President, Applied Materials, Inc.
Robert Bruck is the Vice President of Corporate Business Development at Applied Materials where he works with customers, industry partners, and internal business units to develop and implement business solutions that accelerate technology innovation and deliver more value to customers. Before joining Applied Materials, Mr. Bruck worked as Corporate Vice President and GM of Global Supply Management at Intel Corporation. Previously, Mr. Bruck held other roles at Intel, including general manager of Technology Manufacturing Engineering, vice president and director of Fab Capital Equipment Development, and vice president of Corporate Planning and Logistics. Mr. Bruck earned his bachelor’s degree in Marketing and his MBA from Arizona State University.
Seema Phull
Chief Strategy Officer, KORE Power
Seema Phull has 27 years of executive leadership and transformation experience in renewable energy, high-tech manufacturing, consumer goods, and defense & aerospace industries. Ms. Phull previously held executive roles at APITechnologies, Honeywell International, and Enterasys Networks, and began her career as a Dewalt field sales representative with Stanley Black & Decker. Most recently, she led ForeOptics, providing her global clients the complex solutions and strategies necessary to couple transformational growth with inventory and cost improvement. Ms. Phull holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in business and cyber from the Maryland Smith School of Business and the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, and completed the Logistics Executive Development Program at the Global Supply Chain Institute.
Robert Sandoval
Environmental, Safety, and Health Manager, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company
Robert Sandoval serves as the Arizona Corporate Environmental, Safety, and Health (ESH) Program Manager for TSMCAZ Corp. In his current role, he is responsible for creating and implementing corporate level ESH programs, providing interpretative guidance to ESH related regulations, driving implementation and progress of corporate sustainability programs, and managing the hazardous waste program. Previously, Robert worked for Intel Corporation, where he managed numerous environmental and safety regulatory programs. Robert earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering and B.A. in Communications from the University of Arizona while also receiving his M.S. in Environmental Management from Arizona State University.
Brian Sherman
Chief Innovation Officer, Arizona Commerce Authority
Brian Sherman is the Chief Innovation Officer of the Arizona Commerce Authority. His work focuses on public sector strategy, technology-based economic development, entrepreneurship, early-stage capital formation, and technology commercialization, as well as innovation in public policy, and finance. Additionally, Brian serves in executive positions at the Arizona Technology Council, Arizona State University, the Town of Gilbert, the State of Arizona, and on the founding team of the Arizona Commerce Authority. Brian received his Bachelor’s degree in Geography/Geographic Information Systems and MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
The Honorable Mark Kelly
Arizona Senator, U.S. Senate
Mark Kelly serves as the U.S. Senator for Arizona. He remains focused on creating good-paying jobs, cutting taxes for middle-class families, and lowering costs for Arizonans.
Kelly serves on the following committees: Armed Services, Environment and Public Works, Energy and Natural Resources, Special Committee on Aging, and the Joint Economic Committee. He is the Chair of the Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee.
Previously Kelly served as a Navy pilot where he received the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, and multiple Air Medals. Additionally, he was selected as an astronaut and his first of four trips into space was as pilot of STS-108. Kelly retired from NASA in 2011 after commanding Space Shuttle Endeavour on its final flight.
Kelly earned his B.S. degree in marine engineering and nautical science from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and later received his M.S. degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.
University Remarks
Michael M. Crow
President, Arizona State University
Michael M. Crow is an educator, knowledge enterprise architect, science and technology policy scholar and higher education leader. He became the sixteenth president of Arizona State University in July 2002 and has spearheaded its rapid and groundbreaking transformation into one of America’s best public metropolitan research universities. As a model “New American University,” ASU simultaneously demonstrates comprehensive excellence, inclusivity representative of the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the United States, and consequential societal impact.
Lauded as the ”#1 most innovative” school in the nation by U.S. News & World Report (2016-2023), ASU is a student-centric, technology-enabled knowledge enterprise focused on complex global challenges related to sustainability, economic competitiveness, social embeddedness, entrepreneurship and global engagement. Under Crow’s leadership, ASU has established more than twenty-five new transdisciplinary schools, including the School of Earth and Space Exploration, the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, and launched trailblazing multidisciplinary initiatives including the Biodesign Institute, the JulieAnn Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, and important initiatives in the humanities and social sciences.
Crow’s model has achieved record-breaking levels of traditional, online and international student enrollment, freshman quality and retention, and nearly seven-fold growth in research expenditures. ASU’s meteoric ascent in quality, growth and modernization has earned it separate rankings as a top school for global impact, a top producer of elite scholars, and a top ten U.S. school for community and national service.
The Honorable Katie Hobbs
Governor, Arizona
Governor Katie Hobbs has dedicated her life to listening to her community and solving challenges for the people of Arizona. Hobbs aims to bring transparency and accountability to the governor’s office and deliver results. Beginning her service as a kid volunteering at church, Hobbs has spent her entire life serving –and has never stopped.
She put herself through college at Northern Arizona University and graduate school at Arizona State University. Her first job out of college was working with youth experiencing homelessness in Phoenix, and helped run one of the largest domestic abuse shelters in the country.
In the legislature, Hobbs worked with both parties to expand health care to over 500,000 Arizonans, worked to tackle the growing opioid epidemic, cleared the state’s rape kit backlog, and put sexual assault offenders in jail.
Governor Hobbs knows that the government only works well if it’s led well. For her, it means focusing on our common needs, not the small differences that divide us. It means bringing people together to serve our state and to create opportunity for all.
The Honorable Kyrsten Sinema
Arizona Senator, U.S. Senate
Kyrsten knows firsthand the challenges everyday Arizonans face. Born in Tucson, Kyrsten went through some tough times growing up. Her family struggled to make ends meet, and for a while they were even homeless. But they got by thanks to family, church, and hard work. Kyrsten’s childhood experience showed her the power of hard work and the importance of helping others.
Education was Kyrsten’s ticket to a better life. With the help of student loans, academic scholarships, and financial aid, she went to BYU and then ASU, where she now teaches as a proud Sun Devil.
After graduating, she worked with students and families in Arizona who faced some of the same challenges she did. Kyrsten’s commitment to service led her to the Arizona Legislature, where she passed a law to help veterans get in–state tuition at all Arizona public universities, cracked down on sex trafficking, and advocated for children’s health care and education.
Now as Arizona's senior Senator, Kyrsten works every day to deliver for Arizona families –helping veterans get the benefits they’ve earned, creating good–paying jobs for Arizonans, and keeping Americans safe at home and abroad.
Kyrsten feels a duty to serve and give back to the communities and country that gave her so much. She got her shot at the American dream, and she’ll keep working to make sure all Arizonans get theirs too.
Strategic Supply Chains and the Role of Tech Hubs
With the disruption to supply chains that was witnessed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for stronger supply chains in several strategic areas has become evident. Arizona emerges as a pivotal player in many of these strategic supply chains.The establishment of tech hubs is instrumental in bolstering regional capabilities to support and fortify these supply chains. Join us for this panel discussion as we delve into Arizona's current involvement in strategic supply chains and explore how the development of a tech hub can further enhance the state's economy. Our panelists, consisting of industry experts and stakeholders, will examine the unique position of Arizona within these strategic supply chains and highlight the opportunities and challenges that arise. We will explore the potential benefits of establishing a tech hub, including fostering innovation, attracting talent, and promoting collaboration between industries and academia.
Moderator
John Fowler
Professor, Supply Chain Management, Arizona State University
John W. Fowler is the Motorola Professor of Supply Chain Management in the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU. His research interests include discrete event simulation, deterministic scheduling, multi-criteria decision making, and applied operations research with applications in semiconductor manufacturing and healthcare. He has published over 135 journal articles and over 100 conference papers. He was the founding Editor-in-Chief of IIE Transactions on Healthcare Systems Engineering, recently served as an Editor of the Journal of Simulation and is Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing and the Journal of Scheduling. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) and INFORMS.
Panelists
Mani Janakiram
Data Analytics Executive, Intel Corporation
Mani Janakiram is a Data & Analytics executive at Intel Corporation. Prior to this Mr. Janakiram’s work includes Semiconductor/Hitech, Automotive and Aerospace industries. He has 2 patents, published 50+ papers and a book on AI. Mr. Janakiram is an adjunct professor at ASU with a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and an MBA. He is a Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and one of the Top 50 Analytics Executives as per CIO.com and an ASCM Fellow.
Jennifer Mellor
Chief Innovation Officer, Greater Phoenix Chamber
Jennifer Mellor is the Chief Innovation Officer for the Greater Phoenix Chamber, where she oversees the Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation, that aims to catalyze business, education, and community to bolster college and career readiness, develop a stronger workforce, and build healthier communities. Additionally, Ms. Mellor leads the Chamber’s economic development efforts, focusing on data analysis and business retention and expansion and launched ElevateEdAZ, six workforce collaboratives, and Wellness AtoZ. Previously, Jennifer served as the Chamber’s Vice President of Program Development and Director of Finance. Ms. Mellor received her accounting degree from Arizona State University and MBA from the University of Phoenix.
Raghu Santanam
Senior Associate Dean & Professor, Arizona State University
Raghu Santanam is Professor and McCord Chair of Business in the Information Systems Department at the W. P. Carey School of Business and is currently directing the Department of Labor funded digital workforce initiative, AZNext. Professor Santanam’s research has focused on the impacts of technology and technology strategies on businesses, society, and consumers. His research areas of interest include, health information technology, digital platforms and the impacts of augmented intelligence on the workforce and future of work. His research on digital platforms has explored emerging business strategies, consumer preferences, and trends in software markets and platforms.
Thank you Conference Sponsors
Knowledge Enterprise at ASU
The Knowledge Enterprise team advances research, innovation, strategic partnerships, entrepreneurship and international development at Arizona State University.The Knowledge Enterprise is a new model for the 21st century global research university — one that takes a transdisciplinary, solutions-focused and entrepreneurial approach in all of its activities.
Government and Community Engagement at ASU
The federal relations team works to strengthen relationships with the Arizona Congressional Delegation and federal agencies; striving to inform policymakers on issues that are important to the University, the communities we serve, and our state.
Compact x-ray laser would shrink billion-dollar machines to the size of a room
Device’s ultrashort pulses could capture the motion of individual molecules
When the first x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) opened in 2009 at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California, it provided a new way to look at the atomic-scale world, revealing details about biochemical processes such as photosynthesis and exotic materials such as superconductors. But since then, only four other such billion-dollar facilities have been built worldwide, and getting time on them is difficult.
A group of researchers at Arizona State University (ASU),Tempe, now plans to build a new kind of free-electron laser, dramatically smaller and cheaper than anything that has come before.This month, ASU announced it would embark on the $170 million Compact X-ray Free Electron Laser (CXFEL) project after it received a $91 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
The design could put the machines within reach of university laboratories and expand their accessibility.
“It’s an elegant idea,” says Claudio Pellegrini, a physicist at SLAC who first proposed its XFEL in 1992. “Everybody would like to make a smaller system.”
XFELs are excellent probes of the atomic world because short-wavelength x-rays can resolve details that would be invisible to longer wavelength light. Moreover, the short, femtosecond x-ray pulses work like a high-speed camera, helping researchers capture ultrafast processes such as the movement of electrons and atoms.
To reach such supreme spatial and temporal resolution, a standard XFEL requires a kilometer-long linear accelerator. It boosts electrons up to energies of 10 gigaelectronvolts (GeV), or 99.9999995% the speed of light. Then, the electrons pass through “undulators”—a series of magnets arranged in alternating polarity. The electrons emit x-rays as they wiggle through the magnetic fields. Interactions between the light and the electrons cause the electrons to bunch up and radiate in concert like a laser.
The ASU team plans to replace the bulky magnetic undulators with a laser that will shine directly into the oncoming train of electrons.The laser, like all electromagnetic emissions, has a magnetic field associated with it, says Bill Graves, an ASU physicist and CXFEL’s chief scientist. “When the electrons encounter the laser, they will wiggle just like they do in an undulator.” But where the polarity of undulator fields alternates over a few centimeters, the laser’s field seesaws along with the wavelength of the light—just 1 micrometer.
This ultrahigh-frequency undulator means electrons can be made to wiggle and emit x-rays at much lower energies. They only need to be accelerated to a mere 30 megaelectronvolts, a much easier feat than the 10 GeV needed in a standard XFEL. This vastly reduces the footprint of the XFEL, bringing it down from 1 kilometer to just 10 meters.
With a lower energy electron beam, the team can use crystal diffractors and magnets to finely pattern the electrons into tightly packed bunches. The bunched electrons wiggle more synchronously with one another and as a result, produce more coherent x-ray light.The bunching also results in a shorter pulse of less than a femtosecond.
Click here to read the full article.
Made in Arizona to power the world’s devices
Apple chooses Arizona factory to make its chips; TSMC expands in north Phoenix
TSMC is investing $40 billion in two North Phoenix fabs to manufacture high-tech chips. The facilities will help bring more semiconductor industry manufacturing back to the U.S., helping U.S. companies like Apple and AMD secure critical components domestically.
–ASU News, March 13, 2023
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company announced that in addition to its first Arizona fabrication facility, which drivers can see in north Phoenix off the I-17, it has also started the construction of a second fab.
The first is scheduled to begin production in 2024, the second in 2026.The overall investment for the two fabs will be approximately $40 billion, representing the largest foreign direct investment inArizona history and one of the largest in the history of the U.S.
“ASU will work to provide the talent to support the workforce thatTSMC needs and research that is of value,” says Michael M. Crow, president of ASU, which is an education partner of TSMC.
As part of the expansion, TSMC recruiter Alexandra Moulinet and early talent manager Roxanna Vega met with students outside the Engineering Center building G, as they and another representative from TSMC visited ASU.The company held information sessions about employment opportunities now and in the future. TSMC is the world’s largest contract chipmaker and is constructing two major chip fabrication plants in the northwest Valley.
Learn more about ASU’s work in semiconductors and with local partners at neweconomy.asu.edu.
Raytheon to open engineering design hub at ASU's SkySong location
Leading aerospace and defense company Raytheon has announced that it will be opening a new facility at SkySong, the Arizona State University Scottsdale Innovation Center, adding 28,000 square feet of digital design space to the company's footprint just minutes away from the university’s Tempe campus.
The new engineering design hub will leverage talent in the metro Phoenix area, housing approximately 150 professional positions — 95% of which will be employees new to Raytheon. The location will focus primarily on digital design products that support the rapid growth and demand for the company's defense portfolio, which, to date, has mostly been concentrated in southern Arizona.
“We’ve been working for years to expand our presence in the greater Phoenix area to take advantage of a talent pool that is uniquely qualified to drive this type of innovation,” said Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon. “This expansion will also provide greater opportunities to collaborate with other tech companies and suppliers in the region.”
In addition to expanding its presence to the Valley, the move strengthens Raytheon’s partnership with ASU and its Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, the largest engineering university in the country, to create a steady pipeline of talent for the future and further many research and development projects.
“ASU has a deep commitment to expanding its engagement with defense primes, and co-locating with Raytheon at the ASU's SkySong Innovation Center will enable us to advance our work with one of the strongest companies in the world, ”ASU President Michael Crow said. “We welcome Raytheon to greater Phoenix and look forward to a new chapter in our relationship.”
Click here to read the full article.
‘Innovation and job-creation engine’: ASU, Applied Materials to create research center in Tempe
Arizona State University has joined forces with a Silicon Valley giant in a $270 million partnership to create an advanced research and development center in Tempe to support Arizona's semiconductor industry and spur educational opportunities for students.
The deal with Applied Materials Inc. will create a "Materials-to-Fab" center at ASU Research Park, with the company providing around $200 million in funding and other support, including the donation of state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment.
The MTF Center will enable students, faculty and Applied Materials representatives to work with industry partners, startup companies, government entities and other academic institutions. The new ASU alliance will focus on materials-deposition technology, referring to processes in which various layers of materials are placed on a surface.
A key feature of the alliance involves installation of advanced Applied Materials equipment for use by students, faculty members and other companies, said Sally Morton, an ASU professor of statistics and executive vice president of the school's Knowledge Enterprise unit.
By encouraging startup companies to use and gain familiarity with equipment not generally available to them, the partnership could encourage business growth and employment gains down the road, Morton said. In addition, the availability of such equipment could help ASU attract and retain faculty, she added.
Semiconductors, or chips, are the increasingly tiny and sophisticated electrical components used to operate all sorts of appliances, machinery, cellphones, computers, vehicles and more. The U.S. industry received a big boost for research and production with passage of the CHIPS and Science Act in 2022.
Closer academic, industry ties
Applied Materials, the world’s largest provider of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, recently has increased its collaboration with leading universities, including ASU. The company, based in Santa Clara, California, employs about 33,000 people globally and earned a profit of $6.5 billion on $25.8 billion in revenue in 2022.
“What this alliance will do is expand impact, deliver the mechanisms for finding new ways of doing things and, if we are successful, it will yield results that we can use to innovate again," said ASU President Michael Crow in a prepared statement.
Arizona's semiconductor industry is growing, most notably from a major expansion of an Intel campus in Chandler and development of a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. complex in north Phoenix.
Morton predicted the partnership with Applied Materials will make Arizona more competitive in microelectronic R&D and production.
Gary Dickerson, president and CEO of Applied Materials, in a statement said he envisions the new center as "playing a key role in accelerating materials-engineering innovations, commercializing academic research and strengthening the pipeline of future semiconductor-industry talent.”
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ASU’s major role in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company coming to Arizona
PHOENIX - Arizona State University played a crucial role in bringing the microelectronics industry, specifically Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, to Phoenix.
- Fox 10 Phoenix, December 5, 2022
"One of the key reasons why the president is here, Arizona has become ground zero for semiconductors," said Kyle Squires, dean of Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State.
TechTarget.com describes a semiconductor as "a substance that has specific electrical properties that enable it to serve as a foundation for computers and other electronic devices."
ASU boasts the largest college of engineering and technology in the country.
Squires says they have students, faculty, and staff involved in every aspect of this semiconductor factory. Some are based in Taiwan and others are set to work in Arizona – a partnership that has been in the works since 2019.
"You’ll often hear about electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, material science, computer science, chemical engineering, just to give you a sense of the kinds of disciplines that are involved," Squires said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company needs the talent and the ideas in all these areas to make its mission successful, supplying the tiniest technology that makes your iPhone, your TV, and your computer operate.
"There are several effects. One is the literally thousands of jobs that is the individuals, the engineers, the high value, well paying jobs, working at TSMC," Squires said. "Then there is the second effect, all the ripple effects throughout other parts of the economy that would be benefited, by this fab, these engineers being employed at TSMC."
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Grant to fund microfactories, technology transfer, economic development for Indigenous communities
First major NSF outlay to ASU’s Global Center for Technology Transfer supports collaboration with Navajo Technical University
Arizona State University’s Global Center for Technology Transfer (GCTT) and colleagues from Navajo Technical University will develop geographically distributed microfactories and technology centers in the Navajo Nation thanks to $1 million in funding from the center's first major National Science Foundation grant.
The collaboration will enable Indigenous communities to play an important role in supply chain operations for the space industry, an emerging industrial sector in the Southwest, GCTT Co-Director Donald Siegel said.
The pilot program is called the Indigenous Innovation Network — Advancing Distributed Manufacturing Innovations in Tribal Communities (IIN-ADMIT). Principal investigators from Navajo Technical University (NTU) and GCTT developed a plan for an operational ecosystem for micromanufacturing technologies, which will be implemented in a manner consistent with tribal community values.
GCTT’s role will involve establishing legal, entrepreneurial and managerial frameworks that will facilitate translational research between ASU and NTU, as well as the contracting process with prospective industry partners.
IIN-ADMIT is among more than 40 unique teams to receive one of the first-ever NSF Regional Innovation Engines Development awards, which aim to help partners collaborate to create economic, societal and technological opportunities for their regions. It is one of the first grants to GCTT since it was created in 2022.
GCTT is a collaboration of ASU’s School of Public Affairs in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, the W. P. Carey School of Business, the Thunderbird School of Global Management, the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. The center’s goal is to bridge the gap between technology transfer research and managerial practice and public policy formation.
“Given GCTT’s commitment to inclusive, technology-based economic development and technology transfer, it is fitting that our first major National Science Foundation grant advances that goal. More specifically, GCTT’s NSF grant fills a major void in conventional technology-based economic development and technology transfer programs, which have often excluded tribal communities,” said Siegel, Foundation Professor of Public Policy and Management in the School of PublicAffairs and a co-principal investigator on the grant.
