Gov. Greg Abbott was joined by Texas A&M University System Chancellor Glenn Hegar ‘93, Regent Jay Graham ‘92, Rep. Paul Dyson (R-14), Director of the A&M Semiconductor Institute Steve Putna and other stakeholders of the Semiconductor Institute at its ceremonial groundbreaking at the RELLIS campus on April 9.
Speakers at the event focused on one point — Texas is stepping up to lead the United States, and the world, in the semiconductor industry.
“Leadership is not something you just assume, it’s something you build,” Graham said in his address. “ … This institute will help do that. It creates a pipeline of talent, training for high-demand, high-wage jobs; it gives the industry a place to partner in skill and innovation; it ensures that the research down here in Texas translates into production here in Texas.”
Dyson emphasized the growth that this new facility will bring to Brazos County as it becomes a leader in one of the most important and growing industries in the world.
“Semiconductors are the backbone of our modern economy,” Dyson said. “The power devices we carry, the cars we drive, life-saving medical equipment and the critical infrastructure that keeps our community safe. By investing in a world-class research facility right here at Texas A&M, we are making a clear choice to keep those jobs, that innovation and those opportunities close to home.”
Abbott was introduced by A&M Vice Chancellor for Research and Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium Executive Committee member Joe Elabd, Ph.D., who mentioned the impact of Abbott’s Texas CHIPS Act.
The CHIPS Act, signed by Abbott in June 2023, was created to expand and develop the semiconductor industry in Texas. The act established the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium and Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund, which helped finance the Semiconductor Institute.
Abbott highlighted how crucial the semiconductor industry is in the world right now and how critical Texas’ role in the industry will be for the United States as a whole.
“There is a race for dominant leadership in chips, but at the same time we must understand, we need to do it in a way that other countries are adopting the chip used in the United States, so that every platform, every device, every software component that’s going to be built in the future, is going to be built on chips made in the United States of America,” Abbott said.
Texas’ position already ranks No. 1 in the industry, Abbott said, not including the new $44 billion Samsung facility that is coming to Taylor.
“When you add that to also what Elon Musk announced with his Terafab lab, the future of semiconductors will basically be three countries — Taiwan, China and Texas — that will be leading the entire world in manufacturing the semiconductors that will be used operationally for pretty much everything that’s going to be done,” Abbott said.
Putna told the crowd the institute has goals to connect the semiconductor industry to broader academia.
“Those of us in the semiconductor field often refer to the gap between academia and industry as ‘the valley of death,’ and we are committed to bridging those ecosystem gaps and lowering the barrier for innovation to come to market,” Putna said.
Putna brought out student volunteers from A&M’s AggieFab Nanofabrication Facility to join in at the ceremonial groundbreaking.
One of the AggieFab students, electrical engineering senior Alan Jaf, said that Abbott and Hegar coming out to the groundbreaking ceremony showed how much support is coming in from the state.
“It’s just really cool to see how the University supports the students to succeed,” Jaf said. “It’s a more heartfelt thing that they’re really pushing us to succeed in the industry, not just in academics.”
