Team Synaptic from Boise State University was named a Top 10 Finalist in the Semiconductor Solutions Challenge 2026, according to an April 13 announcement. The competition, hosted by the Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub at Arizona State University, brought together over 150 students nationwide to tackle issues in semiconductor manufacturing and infrastructure.
The challenge is intended to bridge academia and industry by engaging students with real-world problems while offering hands-on experience. Team Synaptic earned its finalist spot for presenting solutions to two advanced semiconductor problems: predicting polymer thickness uniformity for packaging and automating design-rule-clean layout for standard-cell or memory macro interfaces.
The Boise State team included Ashraf Shihab, Asif Bhuiyan, Md Mahmudul Kabir Peyal—all PhD students in Electrical and Computer Engineering—and Mostofa Najmus Sakib, a PhD student in Computing. Their work combined physics-aware modeling with optimization strategies and automation techniques aimed at improving manufacturability and ensuring compliance with design rules during chip development.
The final competition took place on April 3 when teams presented their projects before a panel of judges. Organizers said the event helps foster innovation by allowing direct interaction between students and industry professionals.
Being recognized as a Top 10 finalist highlights both Team Synaptic’s research capabilities and Boise State University’s growing presence in semiconductor research.
