In 2019, Kevin McComber ’05, PhD ’11 was at MIT working on integrated photonics — chip-based devices that send and receive signals using light — and set out to hire someone to design photonic chips. The experience made him realize just how little expertise the U.S. workforce has in integrated photonics design, a problem that’s part of a broader shortage of workers in semiconductor manufacturing. The insight would change the trajectory of McComber’s career. Despite having no background in photonics design at the time, McComber decided to leave MIT and…
