Professor H.-S. Philip Wong's opinion and analysis article, “To Reignite the U.S. Chip Industry, Invite More Chefs into the Kitchen,” provides a perspective on how the U.S. might regain global leadership in chipmaking. 

[…] Ensuring the U.S. has a seat at the table with the world’s leading makers will take innovation and collaboration of epic proportions.

Lowering the barriers to participation and funding—inviting the sharpest minds using the finest ingredients and the best equipment — is critical to the future of America’s CHIPS-inspired semiconductor future. The nearly $600 billion global semiconductor chip industry makes more than a trillion chips every year, found in everything from cars to coffeemakers. A “more-is-merrier” approach would create a vibrant and fast-moving network of innovation to produce the breakthroughs needed to succeed.

So far, a lot of attention has instead been focused on the biggest, and often most slow-moving, players in industry. America thrives on innovation, yet many of the most creative minds at smaller companies and universities have been shut out by the field’s notoriously high costs of research and development and by lack of access to the expensive tools and facilities (often called “fabs”) needed for prototyping. As any high-end chef will tell you, you can’t create something transformative if you don’t have a kitchen in which to cook.

Read the full article

• Scientific American, “To Reignite the U.S. Chip Industry, Invite More Chefs into the Kitchen.”