Meg Villeneuve
KENT, OH—With the help of a $200,000 Technology Action Fund grant from the State of Ohio, Kent State University (KSU) is offering a program that teaches people what it's like to work in a cleanroom, from gowning up to learning how to work under strict validation guidelines.
The university was able to match those funds with participating companies and establish an educational cleanroom at the University's Liquid Crystal Institute (LCI). Collaborating with LCI is the College of Continuing Studies.
 A view of equipment in Kent State’s training cleanroom. |
“In Ohio, and nationwide, there is a very real need for improved training for high technology industries,” says Professor Michael Fisch of the LCI. This is especially true in Northeast Ohio where economic growth in high technology industries and their corresponding high-paying jobs has lagged other areas. Kent State University has the resources and regional impact via its eight-campus system to systematically address this need.”
The “teaching cleanroom,” as it's been named, will offer hands-on training to people who want to hone their skills as potential production operators, technicians and engineers at area companies. The training will also make the participants more desirable to companies that are looking for candidates who already know how to work in a cleanroom.
“The basic training course is designed for a small number of students (4-6) to provide an atmosphere of interaction and individual attention to each participant,” notes Professor Fisch. “It will include three days of classroom presentations and hands-on cleanroom experience.”
Under the guidance of Professor Fisch, students will attend presentations, including basics of liquid crystal materials, operation of LCDs, techniques to working in a cleanroom and photolithography. Between the presentations, participants will suit up and receive hands-on experience. Rather than focusing on math and science, the course will concentrate on procedures in validation and handling of equipment in the cleanroom.
 The teaching classroom at Kent State University will offer hands-on training. |
The cleanroom is between an ISO Class 5 (Class 100) and ISO Class 6 (Class 1,000), Fisch says, and is for training purposes only. When asked if there would ever be an LCD pilot line, Fisch notes, “At another location within the Institute, there is a 2,500-square-foot cleanroom space that contains a prototyping line, the Lucent Technologies LCD Pilot Line and the W.M. Keck Cleanroom. The facility has the capability to produce page-size passive LCDs.”
The university's initial goal is to provide training for the liquid crystal industry, biotechnology and MEMs industry. In the future, Fisch says the University plans to work with its regional campuses to develop two- and four-year programs that meet the needs of the high-tech industry.