Spectrum News: Cincinnati recruits high-tech manufacturing
UC shows Spectrum News how it is preparing graduates for new tech jobs
Spectrum News visited the University of Cincinnati's cleanroom in the Mantie Center to see how students are getting ready for Ohio's nascent microchip manufacturing industry.
Rashmi Jha, a professor of electrical engineering in UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science, told Spectrum News that UC students are preparing to work in Ohio's growing high-tech manufacturing industry with targeted training.
"At Intel, a lot of things will be automatic, but the fundamentals will be the same," Jha told Spectrum News.
UC College of Engineering and Applied Science professor Rashmi Jha talks to Spectrum News about how UC is preparing graduates to work in Ohio's growing manufacturing industry. Photo/Spectrum News
Intel is building two new microchip fabrication plants outside Columbus, a move that is expected to boost electronics manufacturing along the entire supply chain in Ohio. President Biden this week signed a bill that will provide more than $52 billion in subsidies for U.S. semiconductor production and research to spur American manufacturing.
UC microelectronics engineer Ronald Flenniken said graduates often leave Ohio to pursue careers in high-tech manufacturing.
"If you ever really wanted to do this as a living, you had to go to the East Coast or West Coast," Flenniken told Spectrum News. "Now with Intel being in the Midwest, it makes a big difference."
UC and a dozen other Midwestern universities and colleges created a new network designed to support semiconductor and microelectronics production in the United States.
"This network of Midwest academic institutions represents an enormous opportunity for our region to lead in microelectronics — both in technological advancement and workforce development," UC President Neville Pinto said.
Featured image at top: A UC College of Engineering and Applied Science student works in a microelectronics clean room at the Mantei Center. Photo/Spectrum News
Related Stories
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
App turns smartwatch into detector of structural heart disease
November 10, 2025
An app that uses an AI model to read a single-lead ECG from a smartwatch can detect structural heart disease, researchers reported at the 2025 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. Although the technology requires further validation, researchers said it could help improve the identification of patients with heart failure, valvular conditions and left ventricular hypertrophy before they become symptomatic, which could improve the prognosis for people with these conditions.