ONONDAGA, N.Y. — Onondaga Community College (OCC) on Wednesday morning, Oct. 1, hosted a ceremonial wire cutting for its new Micron cleanroom-simulation lab.
It was built inside the Whitney Applied Technology Center. OCC will use the 3,000 square foot space to train students for careers in the semiconductor and microelectronic industries.
All the machines, or “tools” students will learn on came from Micron chip fabrication plants in Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Idaho, and Virginia, OCC said. Because this is a simulation lab, community members and young learners under the age of 18 can have hands-on learning opportunities, as they did at the Micron-sponsored Chip Camp in the summer of 2025, OCC noted.
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Speakers at the morning event included Warren Hilton, president of Onondaga Community College; Nick Hay, an OCC student who interned at Micron and will begin working there after completing his electromechanical-technology degree in December; along with representatives of Micron, Onondaga County, New York State, and SUNY.
Boise, Idaho–based Micron Technology, Inc. is planning to build a semiconductor-manufacturing campus at the White Pine Commerce Park along Route 31 in the town of Clay.
Micron provided a $5 million donation for the cleanroom-simulation lab, and it was funding that was matched by both Onondaga County and New York State.
Ashley McGraw Architects of Syracuse designed the cleanroom and related renovations to the Whitney Applied Technology Center. The general contractor on the project was PAC Associates of Oswego.
In October 2023, OCC unveiled renderings of what the Micron cleanroom- simulation lab would look like, along with related renovations to the Whitney Applied Technology Center. Work on the project began later that month.
