Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2004

Contact: Angie Joe
713.743.8153 (office)
713.617.7138 (pager)
ajoe@uh.edu

EDITOR’S NOTE: Schedule for photo opportunities appears below release; teachers are available for interviews.

ELECTRIFYING: TEACHERS HEAD TO UH FOR HIGH TECH EDUCATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
SEMI “High Tech U” Program Hopes to Offset Decline of Technology Workers in the U.S.

HOUSTON, June 21, 2004 – Middle and high school math and science educators from across the country will learn how semiconductors are produced so they can motivate students to pursue high tech careers during a training program held at the University of Houston June 23-24.

The two-day “High Tech U, Teacher Edition” program produced by the global industry association Semiconductor Equipment and Manufacturers International (SEMI®) and sponsored by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) is offered as a mini-institute within the 28th Annual SECME Summer Institute.

“We’re excited about including SEMI’s program as part of our annual Summer Institute,” said Yvonne B. Freeman, executive director, SECME. “Reaching out to underrepresented populations is an important goal we share with SEMI, the program’s sponsor SIA, and UH.”

For the last three years, SEMI has conducted similar programs for teachers and students in other cities under its Workforce Development Institute initiative. This year’s program is hosted by UH’s Cullen College of Engineering.

During the course, middle and high school science and math teachers learn the fundamentals of semiconductor manufacturing, the economics of the industry, and career opportunities. Led by volunteer instructors from Texas Instruments, TEL, 3PUSA, and UH’s Texas Center for Superconductivity and Advanced Materials, the classes fulfill several participating school districts’ requirements for continuing professional education. The program features hands-on activities such as “The Human Calculator,” an exercise in which teachers perform the basic tasks of a calculator and, in the process, experience the essential operations of a semiconductor chip.

“SIA and its member companies are committed to industry-education partnerships that improve student interest and performance in math and science,” said SIA President George Scalise. “We are proud to be the principal sponsor of this year’s ‘High Tech U, Teacher Edition’ in Houston.”

“We’re giving teachers the tools they need to excite students about high tech careers,” explained Lisa Anderson, vice president of workforce development for SEMI. “There has been a significant decline in the number of students pursuing math and science-related courses in the U.S. This is a problem that affects the local Houston-area economy and every other high-tech community. There is ‘a troubling decline’ in the number of Americans training to be scientists, according to a recent report of the National Science Board, and such trends ‘threaten the economic welfare and security of our country.’ The United States ranks 17th among nations surveyed in the share of its 18-to-24-year-olds who earn natural science and engineering degrees, behind Taiwan and South Korea, Ireland and Italy. In 1975, it ranked third. Without interested, qualified students, global leadership in technology innovation and semiconductor manufacturing will be lost.”

For more information about the 28th Annual SECME Summer Institute, go to http://www.uh.edu/admin/media/nr/2004/06jun/061404secme2.html.

All activities are at the UH Texas Center for Superconductivity and Advanced Materials, 102 Science Center, across from the Athletics/Alumni on Cullen Blvd.

Wednesday, June 23

9-10 a.m. – Hacky Sack Catapult
The air is filled with hacky sacks as teachers learn how medieval technology relates to modern day chip making in a math and statistics exercise called “Statapult”

11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. – Sketch & Etch
Teachers design and develop a chip circuit on a glass plate.

Thursday, June 24

10-11 a.m. – VIP welcome breakfast
Meet “High Tech U” staff, representatives from SIA, SECME, University of Houston, participating teachers and community leaders.

11a.m.-noon – Human Calculator
Using a “feet on” exercise, like the game “Twister,” teachers try not to get tangled up as they simulate electron microprocessor flow.

The SEMI “High Tech U, Teacher Edition” program provides an opportunity for the companies that built the semiconductor industry to contribute to the future success and growth of the industry. The curriculum benefits youth through the support of education and the industry by fostering the development of its future workforce.

For more information contact:

Edward Aebischer, SECME, 404.894.6552

Angie Joe, University of Houston, 713.743.8153, 713.617.7138 (Pager)
John Greenagel, SIA, 408.436.6600
Gary Summers, SEMI 925. 284.7004 (office), 925.330.6055 (cell)

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.