In August 2022, the CHIPS and Science Act appropriated more than $52 billion to protect and promote the domestic U.S. semiconductor industry. Coverage has primarily focused on the $39 billion in incentives targeted at reshoring fabrication capacity. However, the Act also includes a tax credit and billions of dollars in incentives for bolstering production and innovation in upstream and downstream segments of the supply chain.
CSET Non-Resident Fellow John VerWey authored a report arguing the importance of appropriately leveraging these less-discussed components of the CHIPS and Science Act to truly secure U.S. and allied access to microelectronics. In this event, VerWey and Yan Zheng of In-Q-Tel discussed the opportunities that the CHIPS and Science Act presents for addressing the full scope of vulnerabilities in the U.S. semiconductor supply chain.
Recording and Discussion
Participants
John VerWey is a Non-Resident Fellow with CSET and an East Asia National Security Advisor at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). In this role, he uses his background in strategic trade controls and U.S.-China technology assessments to support U.S. government export control, supply chain security, and nonproliferation missions. Before joining PNNL he worked for the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and the U.S. Department of Commerce. He holds a graduate degree in international political economy from the London School of Economics and undergraduate degrees in Asian studies and history from Gonzaga University.
Yan Zheng, Ph.D., is Vice President, Technology at In-Q-Tel (IQT). Dr. Zheng leads investments in AI, microelectronics, semiconductors, and quantum to solve critical mission challenges facing the U.S. National Security and Intelligence Community. In his current role, Dr. Zheng helps lead strategy development and thought leadership for U.S. Microelectronics and Quantum Technology competitiveness.
Prior to IQT, Dr. Zheng was at Booz Allen Hamilton where he provided technical advising for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) including developing technical goals across a diverse set of technology areas such as thermal management, directed energy, RF communications, microelectronics, and photonics. While at DARPA, Dr. Zheng was the lead coordinator for the Electronics Resurgence Initiative a large-scale, multibillion-dollar effort to boost U.S microelectronics innovation.
In addition, Dr. Zheng served as an IEEE congressional fellow in the office of Senator Chris Coons where he focused on developing policy to boost U.S. R&D, support domestic manufacturing, and spur innovation and economic growth. Dr. Zheng helped draft a bill to establish a non-profit foundation for the Department of Energy to commercialize innovative technologies which later became law in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 as the Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation. Dr. Zheng holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of California, San Diego, and a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara.