The Nanotechnology Workforce Development Initiative (NWDI) is a key to a concerted statewide effort to support advanced nano manufacturing in Texas as well as stimulate entrepreneurial efforts and attract new business to the state. Texas Workforce Commission anticipates that the project will play a significant role in supplying the workforce necessary to create and deploy the new class of services and products being created by the nanotechnology industry.

The combined efforts of the participants (Texas State Technical College-Waco, Baylor University, Del Mar College of Corpus Christi, Zyvex Corporation, Sematech, and Richland College) in the nanotechnology workforce initiative lays the foundation for a truly innovative and effective partnership to produce a highly qualified and talented workforce for the growing demands of nanotechnology.

Additionally, this initiative will help accelerate efforts to secure additional government funding to further these curriculum development and training efforts statewide.

The project is critical in part due to the potential economic impact of such efforts as the commercialization of research currently underway at Zyvex, funded by a five-year $25 Million cost share award from the National Institute of Standards and Technology- Advanced Technology Program (NIST-ATP). The NIST-ATP award has resulted in the commercialization of manufacturing technology at Zyvex, enabling new companies to drive the nanotech applications used in advanced manufacturing.

The Nanotechnology Workforce Development Initiative is funded with a Wagner-Peyser Act grant, which is administered by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). Created in immediate response to industry need, the overlap of research and commercialization is significant. Accordingly, the effort is built around the successful training paradigm already established in TSTC Waco's partnership role with Baylor University's Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics & Engineering Research (CASPER). The centers experimental lab is housed on the TSTC Waco campus and allows students from TSTC Waco's laser electro-optics and semiconductor manufacturing programs to serve as interns. The CASPER internship, Sematech site visits and interactions are laying the groundwork for more advanced nanotechnology field experiences for students at Zyvex itself.