News & Events

April 29, 2025
Four years ago, as an Engineering Dean’s Scholar, Jimmy Phan was listening to a lecture from the College of Engineering’s associate dean, Dan Ratner. Ratner told Phan’s cohort about the Washington Nanofabrication Facility (WNF), an open-access nanofabrication facility at the UW, and the opportunities for undergraduates to work there. By his second year of school, Phan was employed as an undergraduate lab assistant in the facility. Students working in the WNF have a unique opportunity to receive on-the-job training from research engineers and network with professionals in advanced electronics, nanotechnology, semiconductors and fabrication-related jobs. Thanks to his work at the WNF, Phan interned at Intel last summer and will work there full-time after graduating with a mechanical engineering degree this spring.

WNF: How does your work at the WNF complement your education in mechanical engineering?

Phan: For me, the two don’t really overlap, so I had a lot to learn in the WNF. Before working there, I didn’t know much about the semiconductor industry – I thought I’d work in aerospace, robotics or manufacturing. But I learned so much at the WNF, and the connections I made there helped me get my internship at Intel.

WNF: What was the internship at Intel like, and how did your work in the WNF help?

Phan: My interview with Intel lasted 30 minutes, of which 20 were spent explaining the work in their semiconductor fabrication plant, so I knew what they were talking about. The work there is like ours but at a much larger scale. I worked on metal deposition (layering metal onto the semiconductor wafers) and wafer grinding together with other interns. They didn’t have the same experience I had—most had never been in a clean room and had a lot to learn about the processes. There is a lot more automation and more technicians in the industry, but I enjoyed the work and put a lot of the theory I learned in school and the skills I gained at the WNF to work.

Once I graduate, I’ll be with the same team I worked with last summer. I worked at the Oregon campus, and the work helped me realize my interests. I don’t think many people know about all the job opportunities in the semiconductor industry or even know of a clear path to becoming a cleanroom technician. I can say I would have neither without the WNF.

WNF: What did you learn from the WNF that you will use at Intel?

Phan: I learned from equipment engineering lead Steven Spalsbury, facilities lead Sarice Jones, and photolithography lead Jean Nielsen. I gained troubleshooting skills and learned how to fix tools. I also learned about the facilities side of running the WNF and even developed my own process for using the chemicals for one of their tools.

Staff at the WNF have been providing training to students interested in working in the industry through short courses and undergraduate jobs and I’ve been able to help with some of that work too.

Jan. 27, 2025
In the University of Washington’s Washington Nanofabrication Facility (WNF), undergraduate lab assistants have a unique opportunity to receive on-the-job training from research engineers and network with professionals in advanced electronics, nanotechnology, semiconductors and fabrication-related jobs. Fourth-year electrical and computer engineering major Prithvi Krishnaswamy’s work in the WNF helped him land a summer internship at Nvidia, a company that designs hardware and software for the high-performance computing (HPC) market. Krishnaswamy interned at its Durham, North Carolina office.

WNF: What interested you in working for Nvidia?

Krishnaswamy: Working for Nvidia has always been a dream of mine ever since I built my first gaming computer. They worked on many applications that I found extremely exciting, like gaming and robotics. I was also amazed by their ability to stay at the cutting edge even as the company grew. And with the stories I heard about their culture and work environment, it seemed like a perfect fit. I genuinely didn’t think I would get the chance to work there this quickly, and I am extremely grateful for the time I got to spend there. 

WNF: What did you work on and learn while you were there?

Krishnaswamy: I was a hardware engineering intern for Nvidia’s data center products division. I contributed to developing their DGX server systems, specializing in AI and machine learning workloads. My responsibilities included assisting in the design, which involved GPU integration, cooling systems, and power management. I also ran performance tests, stress tests and validation protocols on hardware prototypes or production systems to ensure they met Nvidia’s standards.

I genuinely enjoyed all the opportunities I was presented with at Nvidia. I valued their motto of openness and “one team.” They encouraged engineers to work on and learn more about projects and teams that were not always related to their current assignments. While my main project at the company was hardware design, I gained valuable exposure to hardware validation, robotics software, CPU verification and more. The idea of being a constant learner and not letting artificial boundaries limit me was a valuable piece of education that resonated with me.

I also had the chance to interact with a diverse and exciting group of people, especially during our lunch times or company events.

WNF: How long have you worked as an undergraduate in the WNF, and what have you learned during that time that helped with your internship?

Krishnaswamy: I joined the WNF during the summer of 2022 after completing my first year at UW. I work as an undergraduate research assistant, where I help maintain cleanroom specifications and standards. I occasionally assist the research engineering staff in maintaining, characterizing and upgrading the manufacturing equipment and processes for foundry customers. 

During my second year, I worked on an Intel fellowship project researching the advancement of high-aspect-ratio deep reactive ion etching (DRIE). This project gave me valuable insight into the semiconductor fabrication industry, including its tools, techniques and applications. It also provided me with a plethora of useful, practical, hands-on skills and knowledge.  I can honestly say that I would not be where I am in my professional career path if it weren’t for the WNF. Being my first engineering role, it allowed me to explore an area I never knew about before. In addition to the skills and knowledge I learned from varying projects, the WNF staff have been some of the most supportive mentors I have ever had in my engineering journey. Both professionally and personally through the many conversations and team bonding we have all shared. I look forward to making the most of my final year with them, and I will miss them deeply when I graduate