E-RISE: Capacity Building for Resilient Microelectronics for Extreme Environments (XTREME) Program

The Idaho EPSCoR jurisdiction's E‑RISE project, "Capacity Building for Resilient Microelectronics for Extreme Environments (XTREME)" investigates materials behavior under high temperature, radiation, and mechanical stress – conditions central to national needs in energy, defense, and aerospace. Catalyzed by Micron Technology's $25 billion investment in Boise, and a $25 million gift to Boise State University establishing the Micron Center for Materials Research, Idaho is leveraging academic, industry, and government partnerships to strengthen its transformation into a national model for microelectronics innovation. Phase 1 unites Boise State University and the University of Idaho with three community colleges as well as Brigham Young University–Idaho, Micron Technology, and Idaho National Laboratory to advance research and workforce development in materials, energy, and data science. XTREME's 10‑year vision is to position Idaho as a leader in resilient microelectronics through a dynamic research and education ecosystem anchored in extreme‑environment science and aligned with national priorities in advanced manufacturing and semiconductor workforce development. XTREME's research scope spans three convergent thrusts—synthesis and discovery, predictive modeling, and extreme environment validation—to investigate how electron-phonon-neutron interactions govern transport and failure in novel III nitride ultrawide bandgap (UWBG) and two-dimensional (2D) materials. The project's intellectual contribution lies in establishing new structure property function relationships that explain material behavior under coupled extreme conditions, enabling the design of resilient microelectronic systems. XTREME employs multiscale synthesis, in situ characterization, advanced computational modeling, and data driven analysis to test its hypotheses and accelerate materials discovery. The project will strengthen Idaho's research infrastructure through strategic hires, enhanced laboratory capabilities for extreme environment materials testing, and shared facilities that support statewide collaboration. These research activities are fully integrated with workforce development, experiential learning, and industry partnerships, embedding students at all levels in hands on research aligned with semiconductor workforce needs. Together, these elements build the human and physical capacity required to sustain innovation in resilient microelectronics. This project is supported by the EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: EPSCoR Research Incubators for STEM Excellence (E-RISE). E-RISE supports the development of sustainable research infrastructure and capacity in EPSCoR jurisdictions through collaborative, hypothesis-driven, or problem-driven research and workforce development to improve competitiveness in selected STEM fields. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.