The 2025 IEEE COINS (International Conference on Omni-layer Intelligent Systems) will be held at the University of Wisconsin–Madison August 4-6. It will bring together researchers and practitioners in intelligent systems, AI hardware, and emerging computing technologies.
As part of the conference, Wisconsin CHIPS faculty Umit Ogras, Setareh Behroozi, and Tsung-Wei Huang are organizing a panel on Workforce Development for the U.S. Semiconductor Industry, driven by the growing demand for skilled researchers, engineers, and technicians across the semiconductor ecosystem. Wisconsin CHIPS is a co-sponsor of this panel, in collaboration with the IEEE Technical Committee on Data Engineering (TCDE).
The panel will feature leaders from academia, industry, and government, who will share insights and strategies to help close the semiconductor talent gap through education, training, and scalable workforce solutions:
- Grant Emmel, Faculty Instructor, Madison College
- Vivek Prasad, Vice President of Design Engineering Ecosystem Enablement, Natcast
- Jennifer Volk, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Daniel van der Weide, Professor, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Moderated by Setareh Behroozi, the panel will discuss how institutions can align with national priorities, including Natcast’s 2025 NSTC Workforce Awards, which aim to expand access to quality semiconductor jobs and support high-impact workforce training initiatives. The session will highlight models for innovation, successful partnership strategies, and new approaches to education and job readiness in semiconductor design and manufacturing.
Wisconsin CHIPS is sponsoring full technical session access for over 80 local students, including attendance at the workforce development panel, to encourage broad participation. We look forward to an engaging discussion and meaningful connections as we work together to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor talent pipeline.