This morning, President Joe Biden signed into law the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, a $280 billion bipartisan bill that includes investments in emerging technologies and innovations critical to America’s economic competitiveness, scientific and technology leadership, and national security.

 

Indiana University was one of the first universities to support the legislation, previously known as the “Endless Frontier Act,” which will boost domestic manufacturing of computer chips and authorize more than $100 billion in new funding at the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy Office of Science to advance research and development in several key technological fields, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and quantum computing. The bill will also advance diversity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce develop programs designed to prepare American workers to succeed in the highly skilled jobs of emerging industries.

Indiana Sen. Todd Young served as the lead Republican sponsor and was instrumental in securing strong bipartisan support in Congress for the legislation. Because of Young’s leadership in writing the bill, IU was invited to weigh in at various points throughout the process of fine-tuning the legislation.

A section-by-section analysis and summary of the bill are available online.

IU economic engagement and government relations leaders stressed the implications of the legislation on the university’s efforts to advance STEM-related education and research.

To this end, the CHIPS Act will:

• authorize an NSF-sponsored “AI Scholarships for Service” program, modeled on the NSF CyberCorps Scholarships for Service program. Both IU Bloomington and IUPUI are NSF CyberCorps grantees;
• invest in regional innovation and technology hubs across the country, bringing together leaders from business, community, government and higher education organizations to create regional partnerships to develop technology, innovation and manufacturing sectors;
• provide support for technology transfer capacity building at research universities — it is the first federal program designed to support university tech transfer operations; and
• authorize $13 billion for STEM education, including scholarships, fellowships and traineeships to create workers in critical fields, a national network for microelectronics education and cybersecurity workforce development programs.

IU’s Office of Federal Relations, which is included in the Office of the Vice President for Government Relations and Economic Engagement, plans to work closely with all IU campuses, schools and departments to vigorously pursue the opportunities that emerge from the CHIPS and Science Act.