An Interdisciplinary Program of Engineering and Science Ken Vickers Director, microEP Graduate Program Research Professo

1. An Interdisciplinary Program of Engineering and Science Ken Vickers Director, microEP Graduate Program Research Professor, Physics vickers@uark.edu 501 575-2875 • Program Scope • Program History • Philosophy • Curriculum issues • PhD Candidacy Exam • Student Results • Implementation Barriers • Summary

2. (a) 50º 30º 30º [1-10] [110] 15nm Scope of microEP Research (also known as living in the boundary layers) from Nanoscale Quantum Dots and Devices… …to 3-dimensional High Temperature Superconducting Electronic-Photonic Systems

3. History of microEP Program 08/97 03/98 06/98 06/99 07/99 08/99 05/00 06/00 07/00 08/00 08/00 08/00 09/00 12/00 01/01 02/01 02/01 NSF EPSCoR grant (Ultra-Fast Electronics/Interdisciplinary Ed) Program Director hired (Ken Vickers, Engineering Manager, TI) Cohort 1 formed: Eleven BS graduates Cohort 2 formed: Eight BS graduates, four MS graduates MS Microelectronics-Photonics (microEP) fully approved microEP is educational base for UA 1999 NSF IGERT award microEP Program Specialist hired (IGERT funding) Cohort 3 formed: Nine BS graduates, seven MS graduates PhD microEP fully approved microEP is research/ed base for UA 2000 NSF MRSEC award microEP is concentration area for UA 2000 NSF PFI award Six Cohort 1 students enter industry microEP is educational model for UA 2000 FIPSE (Physics) Four Cohort 1 students enter industry, one continues for PhD microEP Accountant hired (FIPSE funded) microEP Education Outreach Director hired (MRSEC funded) microEP Innovation Incubator Director hired (FPI/FIPSE funded)

4. Comparison of Industrial and Academic Research and Work Practices • Management aligned job goals support group goals/objectives. • Creative work is balanced between management assigned tasks and self defined tasks. • Work hours are set in a coordinated fashion to optimize group performance. • Technical organizations require staff to work at a common location to support ad-hoc work groups. • Compensation systems first reward group performance, then reward individual contribution. • Not collaborating in problem solving is viewed as a negative attribute in technical personnel. • Job goal alignment is voluntary to other departmental efforts. • Creative work is self defined, with possible voluntary collaborations on large projects. • Faculty work hours are self scheduled to meet personal goals and institutional assignments. • Faculty independently set hours between home and campus to meet needs and office hours. • Compensation systems reward individual accomplishments, not departmental success. • Student collaborations are not allowed in typical class room or research efforts.

5. Enhancement of Traditional Graduate Degrees through microEP Program Methods Traditional Departmental Education Supplemental microEP Elements • Technical Knowledge • Core classes in undergrad dept • Most electives in department • Few other technical electives • Technical Knowledge • Core of interdisciplinary classes • Applied technical electives • Business classes • Research Methods • Slow student initiated linkage to research prof • Professor’s group meetings • Research Methods • Design of Experiments class during summer • Quick assignment to research prof • Formal research project plan • Team Skills • Project teams in classes • Team Skills • Pseudo-industry engineering group • Weekly operations management seminars • Invention and innovation • Individual mentoring within research group • Invention and Innovation • Summer inventiveness workshops • Personality and learning methods mapping • Intro summer camp for all microEP students Results in • Broadened technical knowledge • Rapid acclimation to first job • Early leadership roles • Earlier significant personal success Sound technical graduate degree

6. microEP Program Curriculum Planning • Areas of Emphasis for curriculum definition • Photonics – The study of light and its interaction with matter • Microelectronics – The study of electronic devices and systems at the micro and nanoscopic level • Materials and Processing – The study of the science and engineering necessary to fabricate microelectronic-photonic devices and systems • Matrix of classes required by Area of Emphasis

7. PhD Candidacy Examination Practice • Traditional University of Arkansas Science/Engineering Process • Research proposal presented to committee for review. • Written exam based on content of specific undergraduate and graduate course knowledge content. • Oral examination by faculty of all subject matter. • Experimental microEP approach • To provide guidance to student and faculty on likelihood of student’s success in PhD studies. • Research proposal in NSF format submitted to committee, and presented in open forum for comments and approval. • Written exam is a scenario based complex technology problem • One week duration (spring break), answer limited to 15 pages • Open written resource, no discussion allowed • Includes technical solution, implementation method, etc. • Oral presentation may be required by committee if needed

8. microEP Cohort 3 (AY 2000-2001) Career prior to microEP program application

9. Student Prior Degree vs Maj Prof Dept IGERT Fellows/Total microEP Students

10. Careers of microEP Cohort 1 Graduates Candita Meek BS EE/MS microEP Texas Instruments Product Eng Jorge Vega BS EE/MS microEP Motorola, Device Eng Muhammad Anser BS Physics/MS microEP Amer. Microsystems, Wafer Fab Eng Alfred Estevez BS Physics/MS microEP Texas Instruments, DLP Product Eng Brian Hart BS Physics/MS microEP Lucent, Optical Design Eng Barry James BS Math/MS microEP Texas Instruments, Yield Engineer Shi Yan BS EE/MS microEP Intel, IC Design Systems Eng Roger Owings BS EE/MS microEP Entergy Corp, Systems Eng Wee Lee Ng BS ChE/MS microEP Texas Instruments, IC Packaging Eng Yue Fan BS Mat Sci/MS microEP Intel, IC Design Systems Eng Clayton Workman BS EE/MS microEP PhD microEP student • Rick Wise, Texas Instruments Fellow • “This is the type of training that we need in Ph.D. graduates for them to be immediately successful in our advanced development facilities.”

11. microEP Style Program Institutional Barriers to Implementation • Barriers to success • Student academic metrics based on individual performance • Graduate research required to be individual effort • Faculty reward and recognition based on individual performance • Resources required for “extra” industrial experience are high • Requirements to overcome barriers • University-level administrators support general concepts • Program manager’s passionate belief in the program need • Program manager assigned only to program during startup phase • Program manager practiced in industrial teamwork atmosphere • Financial seed money support is critical • Customer feedback (industry) must be continuous

12. University of Arkansas Graduate Program in Microelectronics-Photonics An Interdisciplinary Program between Engineering and Science Contact: Ken Vickers, Director Co-PI’s Greg Salamo, Len Schaper Phone: 501 575-2875/3175 Email: microEP@cavern.uark.edu Sponsors: NSF IGERT & EPSCoR Ark Science &Tech Auth. Degrees: MS/PhD microEP http://www.uark.edu/depts/microep Mission The educational objective of the microEP program is a graduate fully prepared to drive the advancement of the combination of microelectronics and photonics. A rigorous interdisciplinary graduate technical education, including soft skills training, will be used to accomplish this mission. New Tactics • Summer creativity • workshops • Interdisciplinary • curriculum • Entrepreneurial • methods seminars • Pseudo industrial work • group environment • Early research • internships • International • internships • Soft skills training and • practice