Allison Godwin, an expert in engineering education and associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering in Cornell Engineering, has been appointed associate director of the Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility (CNF), effective January 3, 2024.
Godwin will oversee CNF's education and workforce development programs.
"Allison's role at CNF is an application of her research and draws on her accomplishments and institutional leadership in workforce development and supporting diversity in engineering," said Judy Cha, Ph.D. '09, the Lester B. Knight Director of CNF and professor of materials science and engineering. "CNF is renowned for research excellence in nanoscience and technology. We are now positioning ourselves to become a thought leader in education and workforce development."
"It's an exciting and pivotal time for engineering education. As one example, the CHIPS and Science Act has created a lot of energy around workforce development for semiconductor research and manufacturing in the United States," Godwin said, referring to 2022 federal legislation to increase the competitiveness of the microchip industry in the United States. "Cornell and CNF are taking a leading role in this effort, as exemplified by our part in the NORDTECH regional Microelectronics Commons hub. With this massive infusion of funding comes a responsibility to think strategically about how we recruit and train engineers and the larger workforce needed. CNF has a major role to play as we move forward."