The SJSU Micro Maker Space Project Receives $1 Million in Federal Funding

The Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering will soon be home to a Micro Maker Space. Photo: David Schmitz.

San José State is among the beneficiaries of a bipartisan government funding bill passed by Congress, with more than $1 million in funding to support a key project in the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering.

On January 23, the U.S. Congress passed H.R.6938 – Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026, a bill that included more than $3.2 million in Community Project Funding secured by Congressman Sam Liccardo (CA-16) to strengthen coastal resilience, grow the innovation workforce and enhance public safety across California’s 16th Congressional District. The Community Project Funds will support multiple projects across the Bay Area, including San José State University’s College of Engineering, home to the Micro Maker Space for Semiconductor Prototyping project.

The project, led by Mechanical Engineering Professor John Lee and Electrical Engineering Professor David Parent, addresses a critical national need for a skilled domestic workforce in semiconductor-related technologies. The Community Project Funds will award more than $1 million to SJSU to support the recruitment, training and upskilling of workers from diverse backgrounds across Silicon Valley, creating good-paying jobs and reducing America’s reliance on foreign-made chips.

San José State University President Cynthia Teniente-Matson is hopeful that this injection of funding will create opportunities for SJSU students and faculty alike.

“This federal investment represents a transformative opportunity for our university and the entire Silicon Valley region by providing hands-on training in advanced semiconductor technologies to students, educators and community members to directly address critical workforce needs,” she says. “Representative Liccardo’s leadership ensures that SJSU will continue to serve as the primary talent pipeline for Silicon Valley’s semiconductor industry, strengthening both our regional economy and our nation’s technological competitiveness.”

According to a 2023 report by the Semiconductor Industry Association in partnership with Oxford Economics, the United States faces a significant shortage of technicians, computer scientists and engineers, with a projected shortfall of 67,000 workers in the semiconductor industry by 2030. This means that there is a need for 1.4 million qualified workers throughout the broader American economy. 

Lee believes that San José State can help bridge this gap by creating the Micro Maker Space to prepare the next generation of engineers, scientists and innovators to address the big questions of our time. The very skills that engineers and scientists employ in the semiconductor industry can be applied to biomedical devices, clean energy devices, and more.

“Conventional maker spaces promote creativity because you can access things like 3D printers and prototyping tools that allow you to invent and create objects,” Lee says. “Most maker spaces are for handheld-size gizmos and gadgets. We’re in Silicon Valley, and so much of what is innovated happens at a scale that is too small to see. So we’re making a space where people can work on things a thousand times, or even a million times smaller. We want to send our graduates out into industry as ready as possible to work in spaces that require these kinds of skills.”

Lee explains that the Micro Maker Space will allow SJSU students and community members alike to explore new ideas using many of the advanced fabrication technologies used in modern industry for state-of-the-art microelectronics, albeit at a coarser scale. With a diverse range of applications in microsystems and related technologies, SJSU faculty and their students conduct critically important research in thin films, computation materials, quantum technology, microfluidics, biosensors, artificial intelligence and robotics. 

“The Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering is deeply appreciative of Representative Sam Liccardo’s support of the SJSU Micro Maker Space for Semiconductor Prototyping project,” says Sheryl Ehrman, dean of the College of Engineering. “Semiconductor technology is foundational for the AI economy and for so much more, including our nation’s security; and this industry sector is the reason why Silicon Valley is called ‘Silicon Valley.’ The timing of this funding couldn’t be better. San José State University has always produced the engineers and scientists that have been Silicon Valley’s secret sauce all along, and this support will enable our students, faculty and community members to make an even bigger impact.”

Two important facilities in the College of Engineering will be home to the Micro Maker Space activities and equipment: the 5,000-square foot Microscale Process Engineering Laboratory and the Materials Characterization and Metrology Center. 

Lee, Parent and their colleagues worked with Ryan Ward, senior director of community and government relations, to submit a proposal to Representative Liccardo’s office. The project was selected from several submissions received by his office, and Representative Liccardo subsequently advocated for its inclusion in the federal spending bill.