Associate Professor Kyungbin Kwon has received a four-year grant from the National Science Foundation to study semiconductor science and manufacturing.

Semiconductor science is the study of materials that have electrical properties between those of conductors, such as metals, and insulators like glass. Project SILICON, which stands for Semiconductor Informal Learning Initiative through Community-Oriented Networks using Tangibles and Mixed Reality, will use hands-on learning strategies to teach middle school students. Those strategies could include interactive tangible kits and mixed-reality (MR) environments. In workshops held in local community makerspaces, students will build models of transistors and integrated circuits, explore semiconductor factories in virtual reality, and invite their peers and families to share in these learning activities. 

“The project makes abstract semiconductor concepts concrete, engaging, and culturally relevant through community-based, co-designed learning experiences,” Kwon explained.

Educationally, the project will design and test low-cost, tangible, and mixed-reality (MR) learning tools to help students understand how semiconductors work. These tools will be part of an open-source curriculum developed for makerspaces nationwide. The project will also evaluate how this hands-on, embodied learning approach supports students’ conceptual understanding, their attitudes toward STEM, and their identity development as young scientists and engineers.

“On a broader societal level, SILICON aims to inspire the next generation to pursue careers in the semiconductor industry, directly addressing the projected national skills gap,” Kwon added. “By involving families and community members in the co-design process and local makerspace activities, the initiative also seeks to foster greater community engagement in STEM, creating a supportive ecosystem for learning that extends beyond the individual student.”

What excites Kwon the most about the project  is its potential to make the invisible visible. Semiconductors operate at microscopic and atomic levels, processes that are normally abstract and inaccessible to young learners: “Through hands-on tangible kits and immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences, students will be able to see and feel how semiconductors work. They might assemble transistor models that light up to simulate current flow, or step into a VR “factory” where sand is transformed into silicon chips. These experiences turn invisible scientific phenomena into concrete, memorable learning moments,” he said.

Equally inspiring and important is how SILICON will bring families into the learning process. Many of the workshops are designed by the project team for students and their parents to participate together: building transistor circuits, exploring virtual manufacturing processes, and discussing what they’ve learned. This family engagement helps students build a stronger STEM identity and sense of belonging by seeing that their curiosity and achievements are valued at home and within their community. By learning with their families, students are more likely to view themselves as capable STEM learners who can pursue future careers in science and engineering.

“Ultimately, SILICON aims not only to teach semiconductor concepts but also to inspire confidence, curiosity, and connection—empowering students to see themselves as future innovators in a field that shapes the modern world,” Kwon added.

This initiative represents an interdisciplinary collaboration between educational technology and computer science, led jointly by Kwon and Huaishu Peng, a Computer Science faculty member at the University of Maryland. By combining expertise in instructional design, human-computer interaction, and mixed-reality technology, the project creates innovative, community-based STEM learning experiences that bridge advanced technological design with educational research.