NORDTECH Workforce Development Summit

July 18, 2024
8:30 am – 5:30 pm

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
110 8th St
Troy, NY, 12180
Building: Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS)
Room: Howard P. Isermann (CBIS) Auditorium
Click here for map

Register Now

Logo for NORDTECH

About NORDTECH
The Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub (NORDTECH) is a regional coalition of public and private sector experts in and around New York State, established as one of the eight hubs by Department of Defense (DoD) Microelectronics Commons program. NORDTECH’s five founding members include NY CREATES, University at Albany, Cornell University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and IBM. In addition to the founding members, NORDTECH consists of members from academia, government organizations, and industry, including the defense industrial base and small/medium enterprises. NORDTECH brings distributed expertise and capabilities of the Northeast to create onshore scalability across the research, prototyping, and commercial transition of leading-edge microelectronics in support of Department of Defense (DoD) Microelectronics Commons program goals. More information about NORDTECH

PROGRAM:

* If you are interested in presenting a poster, please see the end of the page for poster display instructions.

 

 8:30 - 9:30AM 

Check-in and breakfast

 

 9:30 - 9:40AM 

Welcome and Opening Remarks
Shekhar Garde, Dean of Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Robert Hull, Vice President of Research, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

 

 9:40 - 9:55AM 

Introduction to NORDTECH Research and WorkForce Development
Cheryl Kennedy, Program Director, NORDTECH

 

 10:00 - 10:30AM 

Keynote Address
Connecting Talent with Opportunity: Today's Workforce Development Realities and Strategies
Michelle Williams-Vaden, Deputy & Sr. Director, Strategy & Partnerships, SEMI Foundation

 

 10:30 - 10:45AM 

Break

 

 10:45 - 12:15PM 

Panel Discussion
Propelling the US Workforce through Exposure, Education, and Experience
moderated by Martin A. Schmidt, President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 
• Erin Gawron-Hyla, Workforce Development Lead, DoD ME Commons 
• Susan Margulies, Assistant Director, NSF Directorate for Engineering 
• Dave Anderson, President, NYCREATES 
• Janine Rush-Byers, Micron (Director, Strategic University Partnerships) 
• Alex Oscilowski, Tokyo Electron, President TEL Technology Center, US

 

 12:15 - 1:15PM 

Lunch

 

 1:15 - 2:15PM 

NORDTECH Workforce Development Update 
• Highlights from year-1 and plans for year-2 
• Brief presentations from founding institutions
• How to engage with NORDTECH? A guide for the broader membership.

2:15 - 2:45PM 

3-min talks, student experience

2:45 - 3:00PM 

Break

3:00 - 3:45PM 

Breakout Sessions
Session 1: Exposure (Outreach and Community Engagement)
Moderator: Farhsad Khorrami, NYU

Session 2: Education (Curriculum and Program Development)
Moderator: Jose Martinez, Cornell University

Session 3: Experience (Co-ops, internships)
Moderator: Bob Geer (UAlbany)

3:45 - 4:10PM 

Reports from Breakout Sessions

4:10 - 4:15PM

Concluding Remarks: NORDTECH Workforce Advisory Committee

4:15 - 5:30PM 

Poster Session* and Reception

SCOPE

We are inviting posters in three major topical areas (but not limited to):

Emerging Technologies in Microelectronics 
(Materials and Processing, Computational Microelectronics, Technologies for Future Artificial Intelligence)

Educational Pathways and Curriculum Development 
(STEM Integration, Interdisciplinary Programs, Online Learning)

Innovation in Teaching Methods 
(Virtual Labs, Simulation Tools, Gamification)
 

REGISTRATION

The registration is open and free for all participants, registration is due 15 July, Monday, 5:00pm.*

Register Now

 

HOSTS - OPENING REMARKS

NORDTECH OVERVIEW

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

PANELISTS

BREAKOUT SESSION MODERATORS

ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE

Shekhar Garde - Dean of Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute & Co-chair, NORDTECH Workforce Advisory Committee
Cheryl Kennedy - Program Director, Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub (NORDTECH) 
Michelle Downes - Project Manager, IBM Research Government Programs
Elizabeth Herkenham - Outreach and Educational Initiative Expert, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Sarah Niemann - Assistant Vice President for Research, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Deniz Rende - Coordinating Research Director for Microelectronics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

All parking lots require parking permit, please indicate if you'd need one in the registration form, you will be contacted later for details and instructions.

Available RPI Campus Parking

Parking Garage on College Avenue
The parking garage will be open for the event. 
5 min walking distance to CBIS Howard P. Iserman Auditorium

In addition, street parking is available on College Avenue and 15th Street.
 

Best Western Plus Franklin Square Inn 
Troy/Albany, 1 4th St, Troy, NY 12180

Hilton Garden Inn Troy
235 Hoosick St, Troy, NY 12180

Courtyard Albany Troy/Waterfront
515 River St, Troy, NY 12180

We are inviting posters in three major topical areas (but not limited to):

  • Emerging Technologies in Microelectronics (Materials and Processing, Computational Microelectronics, Technologies for Future Artificial Intelligence) 
  • Educational Pathways and Curriculum Development (STEM Integration, Interdisciplinary Programs, Online Learning)
  • Innovation in Teaching Methods (Virtual Labs, Simulation Tools, Gamification)

If you are planning to present a poster, please indicate your interest in the registration form, you will be asked to provide a title and presenting author information.

Poster display instructions:

The maximum size of finished posters must not exceed 48 inch x 36 inch (122 cm × 91 cm) in order to fit within the usable area of the poster board, use landscape orientation. Easels, boards, and clips / pushpins will be available on site. A poster number ID will be mounted on the display area of each poster board. Please attach this ID visibly on the top of your poster. Posters should be printed and brought by each author to the summit.
Posters should be mounted between 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm on the symposium day and should be removed after 5:30pm. Authors are requested to stand next to their posters for discussion and to answer questions, during the poster session between 4:15pm-5:30pm.

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