UF’s Florida Semiconductor Institute in Jacksonville to grow the statewide ecosystem
New details about the introduction of the Florida Semiconductor Institute, or FSI, in Jacksonville were presented at Friday’s University of Florida Board of Trustees meeting. Research space for FSI is expected to open in Jacksonville as early as this fall, while UF continues design and planning for a newly built FSI facility as part of the UF Jacksonville campus.
“The Florida Semiconductor Institute will be a huge asset for Jacksonville and an enormous boost for Florida’s economy, and having FSI in Jacksonville will be a huge asset for UF,” said Mori Hosseini, chair of UF’s Board of Trustees.
In October 2023, UF’s Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering announced the establishment of the FSI – a campus- and state-wide coordinating hub to provide intellectual and technological leadership for semiconductors in the 21st century.
As UF expands its presence into downtown Jacksonville, the FSI will serve as a global leader in specialty electronics, helping push the boundaries of semiconductor technology through innovative research and development, while expanding the workforce pipeline throughout the state.
“The Florida Semiconductor Institute is a gamechanger for Jacksonville's economy,” Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said. “It will accelerate our efforts to create good-paying, cutting-edge jobs and develop a workforce that is prepared for industries of the future. The focus on national security research will complement our large military presence and the companies that support that important work. We look forward to this exciting partnership with UF.”
David Norton, Ph.D., vice president for research at UF, shared that FSI aims to catalyze more than 10,000 new high-wage jobs in Florida, create public-private partnerships, and accelerate lab-to-fab tech transitions. The institute explores advanced semiconductor materials, device fabrication techniques, integrated circuit design and nanoelectronics.
“The creation of an FSI footprint in Jacksonville will serve as a significant catalyst for future economic growth in Florida’s R&D sector, something that is vital to ensuring prosperity for Florida’s future,” Norton said.
The Jacksonville space will be anchored by a $45 million Advanced Technology Center, which will co-locate UF research and development with industry-leading semiconductor companies, as well as serve as the potential headquarters for UF’s national security applied research enterprise. The state has also appropriate $35 million for research operations, bringing total funding for the project to $80 million.
The Jacksonville FSI will merge UF’s innovation and academic prowess with the city’s urban talent density. Research themes will augment the College of Engineering’s graduate programs in AI, engineering management and computer science. And workforce development programs will be deployed to provide accessible and flexible career pathways and career mobility for Jacksonville’s booming population.
The FSI released a report last fall, funded in part by the Florida Department of Education, that demonstrated the need for this type of widespread job training. Florida’s semiconductor/electronics workforce is anticipated to grow 25% by the end of the decade, the report showed, increasing from 18,000 current jobs to nearly 23,000 jobs in 2030.
