Motorola donation to assist SWT physics program

SAN MARCOS, TEXAS — Motorola of Austin has donated more than $260,000 worth of specialized materials and equipment useful for semiconductor industry-related training to the materials physics and technology programs at Southwest Texas State University.

The donation supports the university’s materials physics and engineering technology programs, which work together to educate students for careers in the Central Texas region’s growing high-tech industry.

The highlight of the donation is a complete set of 52 silicon wafers at various stages of integrated circuit processing, valued at about $260,000 This specialized set of demonstration wafers is impossible to purchase, and will give SWT students a clearer understanding of the way integrated circuits are built. The vast majority of integrated circuits are built on top of silicon wafers.

Carlos Gutierrez, professor of physics at SWT, said the Motorola donation will expand learning opportunities for his students.

“This allows us to go beyond lectures, textbooks and homework. It helps if you can give students real experience with the materials and methods they will use when they enter the workforce,” said Gutierrez.

In addition to the silicon wafers, SWT received a wide variety of other equipment and supplies from Motorola, including training tapes and books, gowning and chemical protection materials and chip packaging samples.

Gutierrez says the Motorola gift lends further credence to his belief that, “It takes an industry to educate a worker. By that I mean, the more involved the industry can become and the more partnerships that can be forged between education and industry, the better educated and prepared our workforce will become.”

Industries in the region contributing to the SWT materials physics program include Advanced Micro Devices, Applied Materials, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Samsung and SEMATECH.

For further information about physics at SWT, contact the department office at (512) 245-2131.