Title: CHIPS Act and Florida’s Semiconductor Ecosystem: Partnerships, Photonics, and AI
Abstract: In this seminar I will share the unique opportunity of Florida to lead the nation in ‘Specialty Electronics’. After a Chips Act 101, I will share how the various R&D and manufacturing funding programs relate to photonic technologies especially. Then, I will share some of our latest work in the Florida Semiconductor Institute including i) next-generation optoelectronic devices such as electrooptic modulators and photodetectors, ii) photonic-electronic ML/AI accelerators and convolutional neural network concepts and prototype demonstrations featuring heterogeneous integration and advanced packaging concepts, and conclude by sharing an outlook of iii) ‘mortal computing’ and energy-efficiency roadmaps for the next two decades brain-derived neuromorphic paradigms and implementations.
About the speaker: Volker J. Sorger is the Rhines Endowed Professor for Semiconductor Photonics and was the Founding Director of the Florida Semiconductor Institute at the University of Florida. Dr. Sorger coordinates microchip and semiconductor activities in the state of Florida including R&D and manufacturing private-public partnerships and workforce development programs. Technical thrusts include, photonic-electronic integrated circuits, AI accelerators, advanced packaging, optoelectronics devices, and chip prototyping. For his work, Dr. Sorger received multiple awards including the SPIE Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award, top 16 educators in the nation, the Presidential PECASE Award, the AFOSR YIP, the Emil Wolf Prize, and the National Academy of Sciences award of the year. Dr. Sorger held editor roles in Optica, Nanophotonics, Applied Physics Rev., eLight, Chips. He is a Fellow of The Optical Society (formerly OSA), SPIE, IEEE, IAAM. He holds more than 20 U.S. patents, most of which are licensed to corporations and ventures.