Blinken, Raimondo to visit Purdue

A burgeoning microchip hub at Purdue University is getting some high profile attention Tuesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo will make a joint visit to Purdue University to highlight the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act and tour of the Birck Nanotechnology Center on the West Lafayette campus.

Blinken and Raimondo will be joined by Gov. Eric Holcomb and Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) for the visit, which will include a panel discussion, led by Purdue President Mitch Daniels, about U.S. leadership in technologies of the future.

The CHIPS and Science Act was signed into law by President Joe Biden last month. The bill is fueling growth in the semiconductor manufacturing industry throughout the country, including at Purdue.

In June, Taiwan-based chip maker MediaTek detailed plans to establish a chip design center at the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration in Purdue’s Discovery Park District.

Less than a month later, Minnesota-based SkyWater Technology (Nasdaq: SKYT) said it would invest $1.8 billion to build a semiconductor R&D and production facility at Purdue and create more than 750 jobs.

Blinken and Raimondo will also visit the student-organized Industrial Roundtable job fair at Purdue and meet separately with Purdue students to discuss STEM careers and paid student programs at the State Department.

We’ll have more on the visit on this weekend’s edition of Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick.