MEET NYDESIGN
New York Needs Chip Designers
In New York, there are advanced multi-billion dollar research facilities and semiconductor plants, along with innovative companies. However, there is a shortage of design talent capable of driving this vital industry forward, not just in New york but across the country. This is where NYDesign fits in.
WHAT WE DO
NYDesign seeks to democratize access across New York to the skills and tools necessary for creators to design, fabricate and verify their own integrated circuits, beginning with university students as a proof-of-concept. Ultimately, the organization will serve as a resource to support a broad array of public-private and academic partnerships geared toward industry-connected innovation and commercialization projects that attract investment and create growth in high-technology jobs.
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Our vision is for New York State to be a hub for talent and innovation in IC design, driving growth and opportunity for workers and companies in our state and beyond. New York is already home to a broad array of semiconductor manufacturing, research and assembly, testing and packaging capabilities. The missing piece has always been chip design. By fostering a strong chip design workforce, NYDesign can help New York create a complete semiconductor industry ecosystem and become a landing spot for design centers and additional investment.
WHO WE ARE
LaMar Hill is the Founder and Co-Executive Director of NYDesign with a mission to enable IC Design and create a design cluster in New York, headquartered in Troy, NY. He is also the founding member in the NY Loves Nanotech initiative to stimulate growth by facilitiating the transformation of the upstate NY economy and preparing our workforce to support rapidly emerging high-value-added technology industries.
Prior to founding NYDesign, LaMar joined NY CREATES President’s Office in 2018, been a primary member of New York’s Tech Valley and Mohawk Valley regional economic development teams for the past 23 years, and served as Chief Technology Officer for the Marcy Nanocenter Initiative.
From 1997 to-2005, Mr. Hill was the Director of Marketing and Business Development at Albany NanoTech (now NY CREATES) and the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at University at Albany. Over the last twenty years, the initiatives Mr. Hill has been involved in have created more than 15,000 direct jobs and can be expected to create an additional 20,000 to 25,000 jobs over the next ten years.
Mr. Hill received a BS degree in Chemistry from Kalamazoo College and an MS degree in Chemistry from UCLA. Mr. Hill has instructed classes on technological entrepreneurship at several academic institutions. He has also served on several organizational and corporate Boards.
HOW IT WORKS
Through workshops and continuing year-round university curricula, NYDesign has sponsored and supported university and community college projects for IC design, fabrication and verification. This important proof-of-concept work forms the basis for broader efforts to democratize access to IC design across the state.
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NYDesign provides access for universities and community colleges to the Efabless chipIgnite platform, which connects users with open-source design software and a pre-built chip for integrating custom designs.