On the heels of the global chip shortage, the University of Michigan is part of a new public-private
partnership that will establish a global semiconductor center of excellence in Michigan that focuses on
the auto industry.
The Semiconductor Talent and Automotive Research (STAR) initiative is led by semiconductor company
KLA and Belgium-based technology innovation hub Imec. The Michigan Economic Development
Corporation, Washtenaw Community College and General Motors are also founding members.
The initiative will focus on developing the talent base and infrastructure necessary to accelerate
advanced semiconductor applications for electrification and autonomous mobility and move the
automotive industry forward, according to a KLA news release.
“The STAR initiative is creating, strengthening and sustaining an essential connection between the
semiconductor and auto sectors—and it’s doing so at the right place at the right time,” said Santa J. Ono, president of the University of Michigan. “As the EV transition gains momentum, we must ensure that we
can develop and manufacture the advanced microelectronics those vehicles will require.
“This initiative is a critical complement to several major efforts in both semiconductors and mobility
already underway at U-M and we look forward to collaborating with our partners to advance and
integrate this work.”
Specifically, the Michigan STAR center intends to focus on:
Accelerating fundamental and advanced research for vehicle electrification and autonomous automotive
solutions
Developing and translating of innovations in vehicle electrification and autonomous automotive
technologies
Collaborating with learning institutions, including K-12 and vocational schools, community colleges, four-
year colleges and research universities, to enable a Midwest-based skilled talent pipeline
Training and retraining programs to prepare the current workforce for modern chip manufacturing and
assembly roles
Creating a physical collaboration space, laboratory and training spaces, and incubator funding for related startups
“KLA is focused on investment in research and development to help address key challenges for
automotive semiconductors,” said Rick Wallace, president and CEO of KLA and U-M electrical
engineering alumnus. “In 2019, KLA opened a second headquarters in Ann Arbor, putting us closer to
automotive customers and the larger Michigan technology ecosystem. The STAR Michigan initiative
accelerates our support for talent development, collaboration and innovation in the region.”
U-M has broad expertise in mobility and semiconductors. The Lurie Nanofabrication Facility supports
semiconductor research, hands-on education and regional economic development. Over the past five
years, 95 companies and 150 U-M faculty members have utilized the lab, as well as researchers from 40
other U.S. universities. MAVERIC, the Michigan Advanced Vision for Education and Research in ICs, is a
semiconductor collaborative that is pulling together efforts from across the university to support a
secure, resilient and innovative domestic semiconductor sector.
On the mobility and autonomous vehicle front, the $130 million University of Michigan Electric Vehicle
Center is the latest addition, joining Mcity, the U-M Transportation Research Institute, the U-M Center
for Connected and Automated Transportation and the U-M Robotics Department.
This initiative is designed to connect automotive, semiconductor and innovation research initiatives in
Europe (Belgium), the United States (Michigan) and Asia (Japan). Each partner will bring relevant
expertise to identify and manage programs aligned to the automotive industry, as well as talent
development and recruitment.
“One of the most important jobs we have as a community college is to listen to industry partners to
understand talent needs and then customize programs to quickly train the current and future workforce,”
said WCC President Rose Bellanca in a WCC news release. “We stand ready to provide the training and
education required to deepen our state’s talent pool with well-qualified technicians to support chip
production.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer applauded the announcement.
“The decision by KLA and Imec to establish this new STAR center of excellence in Michigan underscores
our global leadership as a hub for industry and innovation with a robust manufacturing, research and
education infrastructure, and builds on our leadership in this high-tech, high-growth industry,” said
Whitmer in an MEDC news release.
“I am proud that Michigan was selected as the location for the STAR Initiative’s North American research center, proving that we have the skilled workforce, growing economy and strong business-friendly environment necessary to win projects from one of the world’s most innovative companies. Let’s keep working together to bring advanced manufacturing and critical supply chains home as we create
economic opportunity in every region and build a brighter future for Michigan.”