Daniel Holcomb Participates in NSF Briefing on Semiconductors

Daniel Holcomb, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, recently participated in a National Science Foundation media briefing on fundamental research and the future of semiconductors.

Joining faculty from Duke University, Boston University, Stanford and Penn State, Holcomb answered media questions related to semiconductors and the current global shortage of chips. The White House, Congress and industry groups have identified semiconductors and microelectronics as a top priority for the U.S. innovation economy. President Joe Biden recently met with congressional leaders to discuss the shortage of computer chips.

Holcomb’s research group focuses on designing new techniques for securing hardware, stopping everything from attacks to counterfeits or malicious tampering with design. Holcomb’s research looks at how to design a chip in such a way that the person fabricating it doesn’t understand enough about it to alter or counterfeit it. His group is also looking into field-programmable gate array technology, so that chips coming out of fabrication aren’t complete until the group ordering them receives them and adds programming.