In 1990, the US produced about 40% of the world's semiconductors.
As manufacturing migrated to Asia, US production fell to about 12%.
Mark Lundstrom has worked with semiconductors or microchips, critical to modern-day Electronics much of his life and believes they were underappreciated until there was a shortage.
During COVID, we got a wake-up call.
The 2020 coronavirus pandemic slowed production in Asia, creating a ripple through the global supply chain and leading to shortages of everything from phones to vehicles.
US reliance on foreign chip manufacturers exposed a major weakness.
We know AI is going to transform society in the next several years.
It requires extremely powerful chips.
Lundstrom is the acting dean of engineering at Purdue University in Lafayette Indiana, historically a leader in semiconductor research which has new importance in the emerging field of artificial intelligence.
If we fall behind in AI, the consequences are enormous for our... the defense of our country for our economic future.
