Money for UCF

The University of Central Florida’s College of Optics and Photonics in Orlando is receiving $24 million worth of patents, patent applications, hardware, and grants from Northrop Grumman Corp to significantly boost the school’s research in extreme UV lithography. The gift is intended to make the school a leader in the extreme UV process that industry experts believe will, in the next several years, become the primary method for manufacturing smaller, higher-density computer chips.

The gift “gives us a platform to train the future scientists and engineers who are going to be needed as this new form of lithography comes into being,” said UCF optics professor Martin Richardson. “We can now broaden our optics program into a program of major impact in the extreme ultraviolet lithography field.” The donation is the largest in UCF history, a school spokesman said.

Los Angeles–based Northrop Grumman has two divisions located near UCF and has a long-standing working relationship with the College of Optics and Photonics. The company’s scientists have worked with UCF researchers on lasers, communications systems, and land-mine detection systems. “The university will leverage the intellectual property and equipment we are donating to continue expanding the boundaries of chip-making processes,” said Wes Bush, president of Northrop Grumman’s space technology division.