ASU East celebrated the grand opening of their new $6-million Microelectronics Teaching Factory at a ceremony Tuesday.
"This facility will provide students the opportunity to have a hands-on learning experience in a real Fab-like [fabricated] environment that they can't get elsewhere," said Albert McHenry, dean of the College of Technology and Applied Sciences.
East Provost Charles Backus came up with the idea, and after 10 years in the making, it finally became more than just an idea.
The 15,000-square-foot facility includes a cleanroom and was opened for student use in the fall 2002.
The facility will also be used as a laboratory in conjunction with classroom learning, in which students will learn about the design, development and production of microchips.
Numerous semiconductor companies have had a hand in getting the factory up and running, including Motorola, Intel and Microchip.
"None of us could afford to do this on our own," said McHenry about the partnerships East campus developed in order to have the building funded.
Motorola and Intel provided all the technology needed to run the factory and will have staff personnel assist at East as adjunct faculty.
Corporations such as Intel donated more than $1 million worth of equipment and Motorola supplied $2 million, with the remaining money came from the state of Arizona and other businesses.
"This advances ASU in a new direction," said ASU President Michael Crow. "This represents a tremendous opportunity [for ASU East] to evolve."
Jon Weihmeir, a Motorola employee, will start a position as a liaison at East helping to bring the curriculum up-to-date.
"I think the high number of industry officials that are here shows commitment that the industry is making to ASU East," he said.
Crow announced his hopes for making ASU East a part of a major metropolitan research university and said each campus is an important piece of this research community.
"This [facility] is a seed of what we hope we will begin to see in five to 10 years," he said referring to a working idea to eventually change ASU East to ASU East, The Polytechnic or ASU Poly, a school specializing in the teaching of industrial arts and applied sciences.
Crow said the name change represents one of the steps moving in the right direction for East.
"We are in a critical step of what will be in and of its own right a world-class institution," Crow said.
Reach the reporter by jennifer.summers@asu.edu.
