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National Semiconductor is a proud partner of many universities through our Higher Education programs. We strive to find positive ways to make an impact on universities around the world.
We give grants to selected academic partners to enhance the teaching and education of students in analog integrated circuits and electronics.
Since 2000, National Semiconductor has granted more than $2.8 million to higher education institutions.
Recent Higher Ed activities....
National Announces Half-Million Dollar Grant to San Jose State University
Grant for Endowed Professorship at Colorado State University
Funds Expand University of Southern Maine's Technology Wing
National Semiconductor Provides $1.35 Million Grant to U.C. Berkeley
National announces Half-Million Dollar Grant to San Jose State University
September 1, 2007 - National Semiconductor is providing a $500,000 grant to San Jose State University's Department of Electrical Engineering. The grant will help support the creation of a new Analog/Mixed-Signal Design and Test (AMDT) Center at the University.
The proposed AMDT Center will strengthen the analog/mixed-signal curriculum and hands-on learning the students receive at San Jose State University, helping to better prepare them for future careers. The Center, as a key focus area for the Electrical Engineering program, is expected to engage a significant portion of the engineering students.
National's grant will help provide support for the Center's creation, which is especially critical because of current distress within the state's university education budget. A portion of National's grant will pay for a newly established endowed chair faculty position at the Center.
National Semiconductor funds Endowed Professorship for Colorado State University
Aug. 1, 2006-- National Semiconductor has given a $120,000 grant to Colorado State University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in Fort Collins, Colo. The grant will help to provide an endowed professorship in Analog Circuit Design.
The endowment will be used first as a recruiting tool - to bring a new, high-caliber faculty member to the university. The endowment will then provide funds in perpetuity for the new professor to enhance teaching, research, and industrial collaboration.
National Semiconductor's Ft. Collins Design Center focuses on analog products. National's Ft. Collins Site Director, Kurt Rentel, looks forward to this exciting partnership with Colorado State University.
Funds Expand University of Southern Maine's Technology Wing
May 29, 2003 - The National Semiconductor Foundation has made a grant of $150,000 to the University of Southern Maine (USM) to help fund an advanced technology wing in USM's John Mitchell Center, home to USM's School of Applied Science, Engineering, and Technology (ASET).
At a ceremony on May 23, National Semiconductor was recognized as a key contributor. Several well-known Maine companies, including National and Fairchild Semiconductor, have contributed to the $8 million needed.
"USM is a valuable partner/resource," said National South Portland's (NSME's) Training & Staffing Manager, Norm Pineau. "The university provides important workforce development opportunities for internal and external programming, and is an important source of college hires for the site."
National's South Portland site has a long-standing relationship with USM that includes the formation of the engineering school, the establishment of the BSEE degree program, significant equipment donations, and advisory board participation/guidance.
"This investment represents an effort between the public and private sectors to join together in tough economic times to deliver the academic and technical assistance programs that support a critical sector of the Maine economy," said USM President Richard Pattenaude.
John Wright, Dean of ASET, noted that his school exists to prepare the advanced technology workforce through academic majors, customized training, consulting, product testing and related services. "We now can develop more expertise in precision manufacturing and will have the capabilities to expand ASET's services to Maine industries and provide the customized training needed to grow those industries."
National Semiconductor Provides $1.35 Million Grant to U.C. Berkeley
February 20, 2002 - National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: NSM) announced today its charitable foundation has provided a $1.35 million grant to the University of California at Berkeley's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The grant will fund a new mixed-signal systems laboratory as well as endow a distinguished professorship.
The National Semiconductor Mixed-Signal Systems Lab, which officially opens today, replaces an antiquated lab that was still using equipment from the 1960s. The completely renovated facility doubles the floor space and greatly increases the number of lab stations available to students pursuing degrees in engineering and computer science. It also provides students with an upgraded venue and state-of-the-art equipment to pursue hands-on coursework in mixed-signal semiconductor technology.
Mixed-signal circuits combine both analog and digital functionality on the same system and, among other functions, provide the essential link between people and electronic information. National, which has a rich heritage in analog circuits, is a recognized leader in mixed-signal technology used in displays, cellular phones, communications infrastructure equipment and information appliances.
The grant will also endow a new, distinguished professorship in the College of Engineering. At a campus ceremony today, Dr. Robert Meyer, a renowned authority in the field of integrated circuit design, was awarded as the first National Semiconductor Distinguished Professor. The award recognizes and supports the work of outstanding, highly accomplished faculty members.
"National Semiconductor has partnered with our department for many years, and we are thrilled to be able to enhance our department's mixed-signal curriculum through the renovated lab," said Dr. S. Shankar Sastry, Chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. "With the advent of ubiquitous computer devices and the convergence of computing and communications, it is important to give the students a good grasp of mixed signal circuits. The National Semiconductor gift goes a long way in realizing this curriculum in the laboratory and with the distinguished faculty chair."
"Analog brings sight and sound to digital information. In fact, countless applications benefit when analog and digital are combined to create mixed-signal integrated circuits including cell phones with longer battery life, displays with clearer pictures and information appliances that provide people with enhanced Internet experiences," said Brian Halla, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Semiconductor. "National is one of the few semiconductor companies in the world that has mastered mixed-signal design and manufacturing. So, helping students to understand the intricacies and possibilities of this technology is vitally important to us."
National's product portfolio includes numerous mixed-signal devices, and the company manufactures these integrated circuits at all of its manufacturing facilities. In addition, company engineers invent products utilizing mixed-signal technology at dozens of design centers around the world.
National's $1.35 million grant to U.C. Berkeley represents the largest National Semiconductor Foundation grant to date. Despite the economic downturn, the company has been able to provide more substantial grants to its community partners through its charitable foundation, which National launched in August 2000 to support education and address critical community needs.
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