In a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday morning, Howard University’s College of Engineering and Architecture dedicated a post-silicon validation laboratory in Louis K. Downing Hall, funded through $1.3 million in grants from Apple and other partners.
Through the lab and related programming, faculty and student teams will test, debug, and validate applications-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) microchips. ASIC chips are used to power tech equipment in industry, intelligence agencies, and defense systems.
At the event, Howard University President Ben Vinson III, Ph.D., said the new lab is a testament to the institution’s history as a vanguard of innovation and academic excellence.
“This state-of-the-art facility marks a milestone in our commitment to advancing STEM education and research,” President Vinson said. “As we cut the ribbon and open doors to this trailblazing laboratory, we take yet another step in our journey.”
“This laboratory brings Silicon Valley to Georgia Avenue, radically reframing the demographic opportunities and impact of this technological work,” he added. “As one of the nation's premier universities – and a pioneering HBCU – we have a responsibility to lead by example and create opportunities for underrepresented communities in the STEM fields.”
Other partner institutions of the initiative include Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, and University of California, Berkeley.
Microsoft also donated $100,000 to the Howard project as $75,000 will be allocated toward scholarships for students working on the microchips. The remaining funds were donated for new lab additions and enhancements.
On August 21, President Ben Vinson addresses the attendees of the post-silicone lab’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. (Source: Howard University)
A New Chapter in STEM Begins at Howard
John Anderson, Ph.D., dean of the College of Engineering and Architecture, expressed his excitement for what the lab implies for Howard’s future in creating “the new generation of silicon engineers.”
Ahmed Rubaai, Ph.D., chair and a professor in the department of electrical engineering and computer science, serves as the lead researcher directing the lab’s $1.3 million grant.
“Once we identified the space for the lab, we got started in no time,” Rubaai said. “I’m thankful for all the support companies gave in working with us. We are grateful for many of those who stood by us as we completed the work.”
A respected researcher, Amoo conducted research and published in various areas including: hardware engineering with emphasis on FPGA-based application-specific, floating-point hardware, register-transfer level design, microcontroller, microprocessor, and micro architectures (μarch), embedded control, and systems on chip (SoCs).
Rubaai said the lab is the brainchild of the late professor Michaela Amoo (BS ’01; MS ’05; PhD ’16) who started working on the grant for the lab in 2021. She died in 2022. Construction of the lab began in Summer 2023.
As an initial project, nine Howard students in the Summer 2024 I and II sessions designed a microchip. The cohort sent their work to tech company The Muse to fabricate the chips and return them by October. Students will then validate the microchip’s sensors and components in a series of lab testing and research, assessing the quality and safety of the product.
“We wanted to bring the technology and training here so students can take a job right away,” said Rubaai, who celebrates 37 years at Howard this year. “It showed us the expectations of the industry and what they’re looking for.”
After the ceremony, attendees were able to tour the new lab. The space, which will host 24 students per course, will be an interdisciplinary hub for students for hands-on learning.
Representatives from the STEM industry attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, including Microsoft, AutoDesk, Cisco, and Apple Inc. The industry experts mingled with students during the post-reception lunch.
Torrance Fennell, Cisco’s Solutions Development Architect attended the event as well as Michael A. Smith and Tracy B. Ellis on behalf of Apple Inc.
“Being a proud HBCU grad myself, I wish I had an incredible lab like this when I was in school, said Smith, a graduate of Tuskegee University and North Carolina A&T University. The opening of this lab and the opportunities it will create for so many students is exactly what our industry needs, and it’s extremely encouraging to see Howard build upon our shared work on the New Silicon Initiative and create such an inspiring space for tomorrow’s chip engineers and executives.”
The Power of Interdisciplinary Innovation
The top-of-the-line lab will be an opportunity for students to understand the interdisciplinary partnerships within the STEM field. This is likely the case for Chukundi Salisbury Jr., an electrical engineer who plans to focus on silicon engineering.
“Working with chips directly, rather than just in theory, is a big step in the right direction to make more hardware-based engineers here,” Salisbury said.
As the lab was introduced on his third day of classes, Salisbury, a first-year Seattle native, expressed his excitement about participating in labs as he matriculates on The Yard. “We can practice internally and further our studies into what it looks like to design silicon conductors and semiconductors,” he said. “We need more internal computer and electrical engineers who can build components in chip design for companies like Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft that build computers,” Salisbury said. “We need to be able to enter that workforce rather just designing software.”
Assistant professor and alumnus Jeremy Blackstone, Ph.D., (B.S. ’14, M.S. ’15) attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony along with numerous faculty peers within the College of Engineering and Architecture. Expressing the importance of interdisciplinary STEM collaborations, he believes the collaborative space will be integral to understanding the newest technologies in the years to come. “Understanding the underlying design is critical,” he said.
Blackstone teaches computer science courses including electives on cybersecurity, C++ coding, and robotics autonomous navigation, along with his independent partnerships with the Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine. “The future stems from innovation, innovation stems from collaboration so the more people we get involved, the more ideas we come out with and the better outcomes we can receive,” Blackstone said.
While the lab is initially used to conduct standard research around the microchip, it will evolve into a multipurpose hub for College of Engineering and Architecture’s classes and collaborations with future partners in the STEM industry.
Rubaai said that new bachelor’s and master’s programs is under review by the Board of Trustees. The proposed program would be implemented into the College of Engineering and Architecture’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. A new 4+1 master’s program has been introduced out of the microchip design under the lab’s development.
Jarrec Raĉon McCarter Jr., a third-year mechanical engineering major, looks forward to seeing how Howard will lead the charge for other HBCUs committed to diversifying the STEM environment. “Hopefully we’re just the first person in the race,” McCarter said. “I’m hoping that they find that trust in other HBCUs so we can these labs going all over the country."
A College of Engineering and Architecture shows the microchip lab design to students during the lab’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. (Source: Howard University)
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