CNSE is trying to change that. We spoke with Michael Liehr, pictured on the right, the man involved in what used to be science fiction - trying to make sense out of unknowns. Liehr received his PhD in physics from RWTH Aachen, Germany.
He specializes in advanced CMOS integration, 3D/packaging, advanced equipment and process control, in addition to electronic materials and processing. Professor dr. Liehr, who insisted I call him Michael, said the college is making an effort to bring women into the field. Michael said:
Science is cool just as much for girls as for boys.
We are missing half of humanity.
He spends his time at the college as vice president of engineering 80-90 percent of his time, and only ten percent as a professor. He currently oversees two PhD students who are working on 3D integration and graphene integration.
He says his desire is to have "students be marketable and knowledgeable." The college works closely with the community and the companies who use their facilities to provide the workforce with competent individuals. The college attempts to attract a funding stream to create jobs in Albany.
Enthusiastically, Liehr describes the R&D college as a sandbox, where different models of how to use sandbox derive; you can do your own thing or be very public about your technological activities. CNSE enables foundries to work at Albany using the facility to innovate and keep innovation to themselves.
Many well known companies can be found at the college using CNSE as a resource for their research, including IBM, AMD, GlobalFoundries, Toshiba, Tokyo Electron and Atotech.
In addition, CNSE is hosting varied conferences for the nation's decision makers on a regular basis, like the last year's Mohawk Valley business and community leaders conference shown on the right image.
Liehr referred us to the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), where we learned that although the demand for technology-savvy workers is growing three times faster than all other occupations, the percentage of women engineers in the workforce remains at approximately ten percent. SWE is a not-for-profit educational and service organization whose goal is to establish engineering as a highly desirable career aspiration for women.
They provide financial educational assistance to women who are aiming for careers in engineering, engineering technology and computer science. Last year, they provided scholarships valued at almost $500,000. The organization believes there is a need to share the excitement of engineering innovation and invention with girls in grades K-12. They see a need for education and awareness to start well before college and they conduct activities to fill that void.
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