NORDTECH Workforce Development Summit
The Summit will focus on high impact ideas and approaches to education and workforce development related to chips and semiconductors in the U.S., with a broader industry focus in the morning and a defense-focused discussion in the afternoon. NORDTECH anticipates an engaging day with participation from DoW Workforce Leadership, as well as many key industry and academic partners. The day will feature keynote speeches, a panel discussion among leaders, student testimonials, and site tours. In addition, NORDTECH will share findings from the June 2025 Workforce Development Needs Assessment and invite leading institutions and NORDTECH partners to create industry best practices to address the most pressing workforce needs.
Thursday, October 2, 2025
8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Virtual Event: 9:00 a.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Albany NanoTech Complex
257 Fuller Road, Albany, NY 12203
About NORDTECH
The Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub (NORDTECH) is a regional coalition of public and private sector experts in and around New York State, established as one of the eight hubs by Department of War (DoW) Microelectronics Commons program. NORDTECH’s five founding members include NY CREATES, University at Albany, Cornell University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and IBM. In addition to the founding members, NORDTECH consists of members from academia, government organizations, and industry, including the defense industrial base and small/medium enterprises. NORDTECH brings distributed expertise and capabilities of the Northeast to create onshore scalability across the research, prototyping, and commercial transition of leading-edge microelectronics in support of Department of War (DoW) Microelectronics Commons program goals.
PROGRAM:
POSTERS & TABLING:
We are inviting posters in three major topical areas (but not limited to):
- Emerging Technologies in Microelectronics for DoW Applications
(Materials and Processing, Computational Microelectronics, Technologies for Future Artificial Intelligence) - Educational Pathways and Curriculum Development for Microelectronics Workforce Development
(STEM Integration, Interdisciplinary Programs, Online Learning) - Innovation in Teaching Methods for Microelectronics and Semiconductor Education
(Virtual Labs, Simulation Tools, Gamification)
We are seeking posters from NORDTECH workforce development project performers, though all attendees are invited to contribute a poster.
HOST – WELCOME
David Anderson
President,
NY CREATES
HOST – OPENING REMARKS
Kesh Kesavadas
Vice President for Research & Economic Development,
Univeristy at Albany
INTRO TO NORDTECH RESEARCH AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Michael Greene,
Director of Partnerships,
NORDTECH
Robert Geer,
Vice President of Education and Workforce Development,
NY CREATES
KEYNOTE SPEAKER – Morning
Hui Peng Koh
Senior Vice President and General Manager of Fab8,
GlobalFoundries
PANELISTS – MICROELECTRONICS INDUSTRY Morning
Katy Crist
Director, Workforce Development,
Synopsys
Chris White
Vice Chancellor of Workforce Development and Upward Mobility,
SUNY
Aimee Durfee
Vice President of Workforce Innovation,
CenterState CEO
Christine McLear
Workforce Development Lead,
GlobalFoundries
NORDTECH Workforce Development Needs Assessment
Heather McDaniel
Chief Economic Development Officer,
Center for Economic Growth
KEYNOTE SPEAKER – Afternoon
Emily Heckman
Photonics Technology Area Lead,
AFRL Sensors Directorate
PANELISTS – DEFENSE MICROELECTRONICS Afternoon
Vipul Patel
Senior Business Development Executive,
AGI | part of Synopsys
Rebecca Lewis
Director of Workforce Development,
NextFlex
Marc Angelucci
Sr. Principal Member Engineering Staff, Senior Technical Fellow,
Lockheed Martin
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Robert Geer,
Vice President of Education and Workforce Development,
NY CREATES
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Cheryl Kennedy – Program Director, Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub (NORDTECH)
Bob Geer- Vice President for Education and Workforce Development, NY CREATES & Co-chair, NORDTECH Workforce Advisory Committee
Michael Fancher- Senior Research Associate, College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering, University at Albany & NORDTECH Workforce Advisory Committee
Michelle Downes – NORDTECH Project Manager, IBM Research Government Programs
Darrilyn Di Nardo – NORDTECH Workforce Development Coordinator, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Amy Palmer – NORDTECH Project Manager, IBM Research Government Programs
Dani Roberts- Sr. Event & Marketing Coordinator, NY CREATES
No on-site parking will be available at the Albany NanoTech Complex due to ongoing construction.
Visitors must park in the UAlbany Dutch Quad lot and take the Premiere Transportation shuttle to the complex.
Please allow at least 30 minutes for parking, shuttle transport, and check-in before the start of the event.
Site Access Requirements
To enter the Albany NanoTech Complex, please bring the following:
- U.S. citizens: Valid government-issued photo ID (e.g., driver’s license)
- Permanent residents: Permanent Resident Card (Green Card)
- Non-U.S. citizens: Passport (only if you have submitted and received approval for the required background check)
Please view this PDF for a list of hotel accommodations conveniently located near the Albany NanoTech Complex.
Poster Session Information
We are inviting posters in three major topical areas (but not limited to):
- Emerging Technologies in Microelectronics for DoD Applications
(Materials and Processing, Computational Microelectronics, Technologies for Future Artificial Intelligence) - Educational Pathways and Curriculum Development for Microelectronics Workforce Development
(STEM Integration, Interdisciplinary Programs, Online Learning) - Innovation in Teaching Methods for Microelectronics and Semiconductor Education
(Virtual Labs, Simulation Tools, Gamification)
If you are planning to present a poster, please indicate your interest in the registration form. You will be asked to provide a title and presenting author information.
Poster display instructions:
Posters should be printed and brought by each author to the summit. The maximum size of finished posters must not exceed 48 inch x 36 inch (122 cm × 91 cm) in order to fit within the usable area of the poster board, use landscape orientation. Easels, boards, and clips / pushpins will be available on site. A poster number ID will be mounted on the display area of each poster board. Please attach this ID visibly on the top of your poster.
Posters should be mounted between 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm on the symposium day and should be removed after 5:30pm. Authors are requested to stand next to their posters for discussion and to answer questions, during the poster session between 4:15pm-5:30pm.