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Skimmed the article; what's the difference between this program and what's already taught in electrical and computer engineering classes? I studied ECE for my B

Skimmed the article; what's the difference between this program and what's already taught in electrical and computer engineering classes? I studied ECE for my BS and MS and there were already a couple of chip design-related courses: digital design, VLSI, FPGA, semiconductor physics, IC fabrication. I guess more specialized coursework on verification or manufacturing would have been nice, but I don't think that would warrant a whole new academic program. edit: forgot to mention that I worked as a chip designer for many years right out of school.

p_j_w 4y ago
I had the same thought. Upon reading, this sounds like it goes deeper on the semiconductor physics and fabrication parts. Relevant bit: "Courses will address supply chain issues in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering for tool development, thermal management, packaging, and material engineering as well as industrial engineering, logistics, and manufacturing optimization."
Dracophoenix 4y ago
Which company did you work for?
- iron2disulfide 4y ago
  In chronological order: a fabless IP company, FPGA company, FAANG company. I've since taken a hiatus from chip design.
j_walter 4y ago
There is a big difference between chip design and running a factory...which generally isn't taught anywhere. When I got my ChE degree many years ago we had like 3 or 4 courses for semiconductors and in one course we learned about the manufacturing aspect. Even then it was super outdated with respect to what I actually dealt with when working as a Process Engineer at a fab.
- iron2disulfide 4y ago
  That makes sense. It kind of seems like the new program will be sort of a mish-mash of ChE, systems eng, and ECE (i.e. what it takes to actually run a fab). In fairness, I think overall there are no curricula specifically about how to run a factory. Most engineering degrees focus on design and theory rather than industrialization. For example, there are no classes on how to run datacenters for computer science majors.
  - ngcc_hk 4y ago
    Agree. Fact. But why so. And more importantly why not? Some discipline want to teach you basic so they do not stop you from innovation. Some just exposure (mba, mgt) so you have to deal with practical case, it’s complexity and not just theory. IT is not just about computer research … hence may be one should expand one’s scope.

p_j_w 4y ago

I had the same thought. Upon reading, this sounds like it goes deeper on the semiconductor physics and fabrication parts. Relevant bit: "Courses will address supply chain issues in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering for tool development, thermal management, packaging, and material engineering as well as industrial engineering, logistics, and manufacturing optimization."

Dracophoenix 4y ago

Which company did you work for?

iron2disulfide 4y ago
In chronological order: a fabless IP company, FPGA company, FAANG company. I've since taken a hiatus from chip design.

j_walter 4y ago

There is a big difference between chip design and running a factory...which generally isn't taught anywhere. When I got my ChE degree many years ago we had like 3 or 4 courses for semiconductors and in one course we learned about the manufacturing aspect. Even then it was super outdated with respect to what I actually dealt with when working as a Process Engineer at a fab.

iron2disulfide 4y ago
That makes sense. It kind of seems like the new program will be sort of a mish-mash of ChE, systems eng, and ECE (i.e. what it takes to actually run a fab). In fairness, I think overall there are no curricula specifically about how to run a factory. Most engineering degrees focus on design and theory rather than industrialization. For example, there are no classes on how to run datacenters for computer science majors.
- ngcc_hk 4y ago
  Agree. Fact. But why so. And more importantly why not? Some discipline want to teach you basic so they do not stop you from innovation. Some just exposure (mba, mgt) so you have to deal with practical case, it’s complexity and not just theory. IT is not just about computer research … hence may be one should expand one’s scope.