edfas.org ELECTRONIC DEVICE FAILURE ANALYSIS | VOLUME 27 NO. 3 2 AUGUST 2025 | VOLUME 27 | ISSUE 3 A RESOURCE FOR TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS ELECTRONIC DEVICE FAILURE ANALYSIS GUEST EDITORIAL FROM CLASSROOM TO CLEANROOM: EDGE AND THE POWER OF INDUSTRY-ACADEMIC COLLABORATION Marla L. Dowell, EDGE Consortium marla.l.dowell@dartmouth.edu edfas.org (continued on page 35) PURPOSE: To provide a technical condensation of information of interest to electronic device failure analysis technicians, engineers, and managers. Nicholas Antoniou Editor/KLA nicholas.antoniou@kla.com Joanne Miller Senior Editor Victoria Burt Managing Editor Allison Freeman Production Supervisor ASSOCIATE EDITORS Navid Asadi University of Florida Guillaume Bascoul CNES France Felix Beaudoin GlobalFoundries Michael R. Bruce Consultant Jiann Min Chin Advanced Micro Devices Singapore Michael DiBattista Varioscale Inc. Rosine Coq Germanicus Universitié de Caen Normandie Szu Huat Goh Qualcomm Jason Holm NIST Ted Kolasa Northrop Grumman Space Systems Joy Liao Nvidia Corp. Rosalinda M. Ring NenoVision Tom Schamp E-Space David Su Yi-Xiang Investment Co. Martin Versen University of Applied Sciences Rosenheim, Germany FOUNDING EDITORS Edward I. Cole, Jr. Sandia National Labs Lawrence C. Wagner LWSN Consulting Inc. GRAPHIC DESIGN Jan Nejedlik, jan@designbyj.com PRESS RELEASE SUBMISSIONS magazines@asminternational.org Electronic Device Failure Analysis™ (ISSN 1537-0755) is published quarterly by ASM International®, 9639 Kinsman Road, Materials Park, OH 44073; tel: 800.336.5152; website: edfas. org. Copyright © 2025 by ASM International. Receive Electronic Device Failure Analysis as part of your EDFAS membership. Non-member subscription rate is $175 U.S. per year. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by ASM International for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) Transactional Reporting Service, provided that the base fee of $19 per article is paid directly to CCC, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Electronic Device Failure Analysis is indexed or abstracted by Compendex, EBSCO, Gale, and ProQuest. Dowell In the rapidly evolving field of failure analysis, the need for skilled professionals who can quickly transition from academic settings to productive industry roles has never been greater. As technology advances and devices become more complex, the demand for experts who can diagnose and address device failures is on the rise. Failure analysis, by its nature, is an interdisciplinary field drawing talent from a wide variety of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. This presents a unique opportunity for academia and industry to collaborate in training early career professionals, ensuring they are well-equipped to tackle the challenges of failure analysis. One of the key initiatives facilitating this partnership is the Expanding Dynamic Growth in Engineering (EDGE) Consortium. Led by Dartmouth and Indiana University, EDGE is dedicated to bridging the gap between the fundamental knowledge that students acquire in college and the practical, contextual environment of industry applications. By focusing on disciplinary literacy, EDGE aims to break down barriers and accelerate the transition for students entering the semiconductor workforce. Disciplinary literacy involves understanding the specific language, practices, and methodologies of a particular field. In the context of failure analysis, this means not only having a strong foundation in the principles of electronics and materials science but also being able to apply this knowledge to real-world scenarios. This is where the collaboration between academia and industry is crucial. Academia provides the theoretical foundation students need through rigorous coursework, fostering a deep understanding of electronic device operation and failure mechanisms. Yet, this knowledge alone is not enough. Students must also learn to apply these principles in practical settings, where real-world variables differ significantly from those in the classroom. To meet the ambitious goal of educating more than 100,000 workers by 2030,[1] we must broaden access to include STEM students beyond traditional engineering, such as computer scientists, physicists, chemists, and mathematicians, and develop ways to translate their diverse learning paths into failure analysis competencies. The industry complements this by providing a contextual environment where theory meets application. Through internships, co-ops, and collaborative projects, industry partners provide hands-on experiences that expose students to real-world challenges and solutions, effectively bridging the gap between academic preparation and professional practice. EDGE plays a pivotal role in facilitating these partnerships. Through the EDGE Scholars program, the consortium has registered 475 students over
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