RPI is a partner in the U.S.-Japan University Partnership for Workforce Advancement and Research & Development in Semiconductors (UPWARDS) for the Future Network, a consortium of 11 universities in the U.S. and Japan. In November 2024, four members of RPI’s UPWARDS Steering Committee, Robert Hull, Vice President for Research, Shekhar Garde, Christian Wetzel, Professor of Physics, and Sarah Niemann, Assistant Vice President for Research, traveled to Japan to visit two of the partner institutions, Nagoya University and Hiroshima University.

Nagoya University

The RPI team spent a day visiting Nagoya University. The visit included tours of Nagoya University’s extensive labs, including the plasma processing laboratory and the III-nitride cleanroom and ancillary facilities. They also met with Nagoya University President Sugiyama to discuss potential collaborations. The RPI team also met with students who had attended the RPI Semiconductor Immersion program during the summer. 

Through meetings such as this, RPI hopes to forge strong partnerships with other UPWARDS universities.

Hiroshima University

The RPI team attended the biannual UPWARDS meeting, hosted by Hiroshima University, with representatives from the 11 partner universities, Micron, and TEL. Meeting attendees focused on planning and implementation around the five UPWARDS pillars, designed to strengthen the talent pipeline and drive research innovation in the semiconductor field.

The UPWARDS for the Future Network is funded by Micron, Tokyo Electro, and the National Science Foundation to advance semiconductor workforce development and research. Through UPWARDS, RPI seeks to deepen ties with partners in the U.S. and Japan through research collaborations, faculty and student exchanges, and joint curriculum development.