Semiconductors are essential to technologies ranging from smartphones and artificial intelligence to satellites and advanced weapons systems. Yet the concentration of advanced chip manufacturing in Taiwan leaves the global supply chain vulnerable to geopolitical disruption, while high development costs, expanding energy demands, and shortages of skilled workers constrain future growth. For America, meeting these challenges will require investment in domestic manufacturing, continued advances in chip design and computing efficiency, and a coordinated effort to develop and retain semiconductor talent. The policies adopted today will help determine America’s long-term technological competitiveness, economic prosperity, and national security.
RELATED SOURCES:
- Learn more about emerging technologies and the Stanford Emerging Technology Review (SETR).
- Read SETR Chapter on Semiconductor.
Mark A. Horowitz
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer ScienceMark A. Horowitz is the Yahoo! Founders Professor in the School of Engineering and professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Stanford University. His research has contributed to early RISC (reduced instruction set computer) microprocessors, multiprocessor designs, and high-speed interfaces, and he currently works to create new agile design methodologies for analog and digital VLSI (very-large-scale integration) circuits. He received his PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University.