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designed a silicon carbide motor
drive that powered a hybrid-electric
aircraft flight in California, a
breakthrough now progressing
toward FAA qualification. They
partnered with Caterpillar to
demonstrate bulldozers running on
SiC power modules that cut fuel
consumption by roughly 25 percent.
Their spinout, Ozark Integrated
Circuits, has delivered SiC-based
high-temperature electronics to
NASA, aerospace companies, and
energy firms. And they have tested
integrated circuits that continue to
function in geothermal wells at 300
°C and in lab prototypes simulating
Venus at 460 °C.
These projects show that
Fayetteville is not just fabricating
chips; it is proving them in the
toughest environments on Earth and
beyond.
This research momentum feeds
directly into workforce development. Arkansas recently
awarded the university a $1 million grant to expand
semiconductor education. The funding supports new
courses, stackable certifications, hands-on lab modules,
and outreach to K-12 schools. Students are learning
skills in chip design, packaging, soldering, and automated testing, preparing them for careers in one of the
fastest growing sectors of the global economy.
The pipeline is designed not just for the university,
but for community colleges and technical schools
across the state. That means Arkansas can supply talent
across the spectrum: PhD-level researchers, industry-ready engineers, and technicians who can staff
fabs, labs, and assembly lines. The Northwest Arkansas
Council, the region’s leading economic development group, is already using MUSiC as a
recruiting tool, pitching Fayetteville’s facilities and talent to semiconductor startups and
suppliers. Their message is clear: Arkansas
offers what few regions can have: infrastructure, workforce, and support.
Industry and government are paying
attention. Lockheed Martin has publicly
endorsed Arkansas’s semiconductor efforts,
www.semiconductordigest.com
noting their alignment with aerospace and defense
supply chains. In August 2023, federal officials visited
Fayetteville for the CHIPS America Summit, hosted
on campus alongside MUSiC’s groundbreaking. They
praised the university for positioning itself as a preeminent research hub for microelectronics. Congressman
Steve Womack went further, saying MUSiC could
become as iconic for Arkansas’s economic future as Old
Main has been for its past.
The timing could not be better. The CHIPS and
Science Act is channeling more than $50 billion into U.S.
semiconductor research and manufacturing. Regions
that combine infrastructure, talent, and partnerships are
positioned to benefit most. Fayetteville has assembled all
three and with MUSiC, they have something
no one else does.
Silicon created the digital age. Silicon
carbide will power the energy age. Thanks
to the vision of the University of Arkansas
Power Group, that future is being built
in Fayetteville, where a once-specialized
material is becoming the backbone of
America’s next generation of energy and
electronics.
Tuesday, October 7 | 19
