VCU is a minority serving institute that strives for excellence in student development, education, and training with an aim to prepare our students to become the next generation scientists and engineers. To this end, the ECE department at VCU has established clean-room facilities equipped with state-of-the-art research and fabrication tools. The Â-STAR educational program offers experiential learning to a cohort of undergraduate and graduate students to become competent engineers in electronics and optoelectronics every year.

AIR FORCE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND RESEARCH

The primary objective of the Â-STAR program is to provide our undergraduate and graduate students the research training with experiential learning at the VCU Microelectronics Center.

The Â-STAR is a Minority Leaders - Research Collaboration Program sponsored by the Air Force Research Lab and led by the Ohio State University.

Student development and mentorship for our future scientists and engineers start early on during their academic career. The earlier they get research training with experiential learning, the better they become as scientists and engineers. Our philosophy is to train undergraduate and early stage graduate students by focussing on the current technology trends and relevant research efforts. For this reason, our students are being trained on novel IR detectors and other microelectronics research, addressing technology gaps, learning to predict future technology trends, and learning research applications with state-of-the-art tools and facilities at VMC.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE

Execute research and development in infrared detectors
Training in the cleanroom facility protocols
Hands-on training on state-of-the-art research tools
Summer Internship opportunity
Develop students for future workforce as competent engineers and scientists
Educate and train undergraduate and graduate students to understand device physics, fabrication processes, ability to conduct scientific research, function in clean-room facility, and operate research tools