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Mark Helm, a senior fellow in Micron Technology’s technology and products group, delivered a keynote speech to kick off the New York State Innovation Summit Monday morning.

Helm visited Syracuse to present Micron’s vision for advancing the semiconductor manufacturing industry in central New York, as construction approaches for a $20 billion fabrication facility in Clay, New York. He outlined upcoming projects planned for the new site and discussed their potential impact on surrounding communities.

The NYS Innovation Summit is a two-day event for organizations in the state to showcase their new technologies and innovations and grow their business. This year’s summit is being held in downtown Syracuse for the first time.

“Across all of these programs, we see a lot of great opportunities for collaboration in the state of New York,” Helm said.

Helm began his presentation with a brief history of Micron’s leadership in chip development. He spoke about the company’s 1984 256k DRAM chip, the smallest of its kind at the time. He said Micron is also the shipping industry’s fastest producer of high-performance memory technology.

Following the company’s story, Helm discussed Micron’s Innovation Funnel, which serves as a roadmap for the potential opportunities in New York state to grow the national technology industry.

One project he highlighted was the construction of the Albany NanoTech Complex, a public facility dedicated to semiconductor research and development, which was completed in 2015. The facility was granted $10 million in state funds and is a partnership between the state and multiple microtechnology companies, including Micron.

Helm also underlined the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program, the creation of a system where chips with different functions are assembled together to advance productivity, and Digital Twins, a virtual model that can help accelerate chip development. These two projects are part of the CHIPS Research and Development program and included in the federal CHIPS and Science Act.

The facility will also house the High Numerical Aperture Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography, a machine using a new technique to create smaller nodes for chips. By creating these nodes, more transistors can fit onto a much smaller chip than before, enhancing more information while taking up less space, according to IBM.

Overall, attendees of Helm’s speech said Micron’s presence in the region is a positive for the community. They also expressed gratitude for the talk’s transparency toward Micorn’s future in New York and its commitment to grow in the state.

Alyson Slack, an economic development consultant for the architecture and engineering firm MRB group, said Micron’s presence in central New York should also be equipped to support local communities.

“When it comes to communities that are close to these major operations, they’re going to need more assistance dealing with growth challenges and planning for things like how much housing they need and how to enable their workforce and ensure,” Slack said.

One attendee, Jenn Smith —a program director within Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement — said the speech reassured her confidence in New York’s ability to support Micron’s goals.

“I was inspired by (Helm’s) vision for New York, being able to really fulfill different aspects of the entire innovation chain from idea to fully launched innovation product,” Smith said.

Smith also said that Micron’s presence will help create local jobs while also reintroducing New York state as a national leader in the technology industry. Micron is expected to bring up to 50,000 jobs to the Syracuse area.

Ryan Scheel, founder of the Syracuse-based Return Bio startup, said he had concerns about the environmental implications of Micron’s presence and generation of biodegradable plastics.

Some environmental concerns about Micron’s semiconductor facility have included its potential disruption of endangered bats’ habitats. The company is not allowed to cut trees more than four inches in diameter because it can interrupt bats’ hibernation, according to syracuse.com.

“The more we use, the more we have to be concerned about, where is this going at the end of its life, what kind of waste are we generating?” Scheel said.

Micron’s semiconductor facility is set to proceed with the project construction in November 2025.

Published on October 29, 2024 at 1:28 am

Contact Zaara: zamalik@syr.edu