BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today celebrated the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition’s (NEMC) $22,512,840 award to continue its work supporting the regional microelectronics sector and accelerating critical microelectronics innovation.
NEMC, a Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) division and one of eight hubs within the Microelectronics Commons executed by the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane Division and the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL), was awarded four of the 26 Microelectronics Commons projects announced by the U.S. Dept. of War.
This new award follows on NEMC's receipt of $37.8 million in federal funding in September 2024 under the Microelectronics Commons program.
"Today’s announcement builds on the momentum Massachusetts is creating in microelectronics technologies and advanced manufacturing and reflects the strength of our innovation economy,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Through the NEMC Hub, we are bringing together universities, companies, and federal partners to advance cutting-edge research, strengthen our national security, create jobs, and deliver lasting benefits for communities across the state.”
“This award is a powerful endorsement of the talent and manufacturing capacity of Massachusetts,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “We are grateful to our federal partners for this continued investment, which will help drive breakthroughs that support our military and grow our economy.”
“This award reinforces Massachusetts’ role as a national leader in microelectronics innovation and advanced manufacturing,” said Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley. “NEMC is advancing critical research and supporting defense capabilities while building the regional ecosystem that will power the next generation of technology and job creation.”
NEMC's award will be focused on the organization’s continued acceleration of the “lab-to-fab" transition of microelectronics technologies in the Northeast.
"From 5G- and 6G-technology, to cutting-edge, high-power electronics and AI hardware, these follow-on awards recognize the successful development of long-standing innovation within the NEMC ecosystem,” said NEMC Director Mark Halfman. “Our members will use these funds to continue to accelerate the lab-to-fab transition of critical microelectronics technologies for the benefit of the nation.”
“Recognition of the NEMC Hub, and the ground-breaking innovations of its 300-plus members, in the form of these year-two awards emphasizes the breadth and depth of this organization,” said MassTech Deputy Director and Chief Investment Strategist Ben Linville-Engler. “I look forward to the breakthroughs and industry-wide growth made possible by these funds not only here in Massachusetts, but across the region.”
Each of the collaborative projects awarded are comprised of the NEMC Hub, a Hub member organization project technical lead, and multiple other Hub member organizations from across the Northeast region and the nation.
The awards are as follows:
- Tech Focus Area: 5G / 6G Technology
- Project Name: Wideband, Scalable MIMO arrays for NextG Systems: From Antennas to Decoders
- Year-Two Award: $2,513,664
- Hub Lead: Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
- Tech Lead: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Partners: Boston University, Northeastern University, Northrop Grumman
- Tech Focus Area: Commercial Leap Ahead
- Project Name: Advancing U.S. Dept. Of War High Power Systems: Transition of High Aluminum Gallium Nitride (AlGaN) from Lab-to-Fa
- Year-Two Award: $6,315,831
- Hub Lead: Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
- Tech Lead: Analog Devices
- Partners: Army Research Laboratory, Ephemeron Labs, IQE, Lockheed Martin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Navy Research Laboratory, University of Connecticut, and University of South Carolina
- Tech Focus Area: Electromagnetic Warfare
- Project Name: Wideband Same‐Frequency Simultaneous Transmit and Receive (STAR) Array Platform Based on Heterogeneous Multi-Domain Self‐Interference Cancellation
- Year-Two Award: $6,639,788
- Hub Lead: Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
- Tech Lead: Sivers Semiconductors
- Partners: BAE Systems, Columbia University, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
- Tech Focus Area: Artificial Intelligence Hardware
- Project Name: Lab‐to‐Fab Transfer of Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS + memristor) Chips for Edge Intelligence
- Year-Two Award: $7,043,557
- Hub Lead: Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
- Tech Lead: University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Partners: BAE Systems, Berkshire Community College, Global Foundries, NYCREATES, Raytheon Technologies, TetraMem Inc., and the University of Southern California
About the NEMC Hub
The Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) Hub is a network of 300+ organizations including commercial and defense companies, leading academic institutions, federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), and startups concentrated in eight Northeastern states. Established in 2023, the NEMC Hub is one of eight regional Microelectronics Commons Hubs working to expand the nation’s global leadership in microelectronics and accelerate domestic semiconductor prototyping. The NEMC Hub is a division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) and was established with federal CHIPS and Science Act funding under the Microelectronics Commons program and executed through the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division (NSWC Crane) and the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL). The Hub fosters a vibrant, connected microelectronics ecosystem to provide sustainable lab-to-fab enablement, boost education and workforce development, and spur new jobs.
Learn more at nemicroelectronics.org.
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