On April 4th, 2025, IEEE Texas A&M University hosted the first-ever student-led semiconductor summit in the United States, marking a major milestone in student-driven innovation and industry collaboration. The event drew over 550 attendees from across Texas, uniting students, faculty, and professionals under one roof to explore the future of semiconductors.
More than 10 leading semiconductor organizations participated in the summit, including Arm, Infineon, Micron, Texas Instruments, Cadence, NASA, Keysight Technologies, IEEE, IEEE-USA, the Texas Semiconductor Institute, Falcomm, and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University.
The summit was structured into two key components: a technical conference and a firsthand exhibition. Each participating company engaged in both, sharing insights during panel discussions, technical talks, and showcasing technologies and career opportunities at their booths.
Keynote Address: Robbie Williamson, Sr. Director at Arm
Arm’s participation at the summit was both dynamic and inspiring, spanning the keynote address, a high-profile panel, and an engaging exhibition presence.
The event opened with a keynote by Robert "Robbie" Williamson, Senior Director of the Infrastructure Line of Business at Arm. His talk, titled “Silicon to Solutions: Accelerating the Semiconductor Value Chain,” set an energizing tone for the entire summit.
Robbie began by walking the audience through Arm’s history and evolution, highlighting the company’s diverse lines of business and its leading role in shaping the future of computing. He provided a compelling overview of Arm’s architecture and why it stands at the forefront of AI and next-generation computing. His presentation featured real-world, industry-specific applications of Arm’s technology, showcasing how Arm is enabling innovative, innovative solutions across sectors.
A major focus of the keynote was Arm's co-designed silicon for AI, where Robbie illustrated how leading AI players are using Arm-based solutions in their cloud platforms and devices. He emphasized the strength of the Arm software ecosystem, noting that virtually every major software vendor now supports or runs on Arm architecture.
In particular, Arm’s robust software ecosystem empowers developers to accelerate innovation from silicon to solutions. Arm’s tools, libraries, and open-source support make it easier to build, optimize, and deploy advanced software on Arm-based devices, enabling a seamless journey from hardware to real-world applications.
Robbie closed by inviting students and professionals to become part of the Arm journey, whether through the Arm Developer Program or by exploring career opportunities at the company. Robbie’s engaging delivery, deep insights, and authentic call to action energized the crowd, sparking curiosity and enthusiasm among attendees. As the opening keynote, Robbie’s address set a high bar, sparking lively discussions, numerous questions, and overwhelmingly positive feedback throughout the rest of the conference.
The climax of the summit was the highly anticipated panel discussion titled “The Future of Semiconductor Innovation: From Research to Commercialization.” This thought-provoking session brought together leading voices from across the semiconductor industry, including representatives from Arm, Cadence, Keysight, Texas Instruments, and Micron.
The panel explored the entire semiconductor value chain, diving into how innovation evolves from early-stage research to large-scale commercial deployment. The discussion was both wide-ranging and deeply insightful, covering critical topics such as:
Representing Arm was Susan Graham, Technical Director and Senior Principal Engineer – Systems Engineering. Susan brought a wealth of experience and unique insights to the discussion, highlighting how Arm’s collaborative approach to system design and ecosystem development is enabling faster innovation across industries. She emphasized the importance of building scalable, energy-efficient platforms and how Arm is empowering partners to turn innovative research into practical, market-ready solutions.
The panel was met with strong engagement from the audience, who were eager to gain behind-the-scenes knowledge of how leading companies navigate the complex journey from innovation to impact.
Running in parallel with the conference, the Exhibition Fair served as a vibrant hub of innovation, networking, and discovery. All participating companies hosted interactive booths, showcasing their latest technologies, research, and career opportunities. For attendees, it was a unique chance to explore the breadth of the semiconductor ecosystem—and to engage directly with the engineers and professionals behind the innovations.
Arm had a strong and highly visible presence at the exhibition. The booth was staffed by Sergio Chacón and Jackson Petroll, both Verification Engineers at Arm, who shared their personal career journeys and provided firsthand insights into Arm’s technology stack. They also highlighted the opportunities available through joining the Arm Developer Program, where members gain access to a global community of experts and libraries of essential tools, insights, and resources to advance software projects.
In addition to the hardware and design showcases, the summit also recognized the pivotal role of software in the semiconductor ecosystem. Just three months earlier, the Arm community at Texas A&M participated in TAMUhack 2025—a hackathon where students and innovators created cutting-edge software solutions using Arm technologies. These projects demonstrated how Arm’s powerful development tools and thriving ecosystem are enabling both students and professionals to bring new ideas to life across IoT, AI, and embedded systems.
More details on the projects and outcomes from TAMUhack 2025 can be found in the Arm at TAMUhack 2025 blog post.
Join the Arm Developer Program
With one of the longest lines at the event, Arm’s booth became a hub for mentorship, curiosity, and connections. Attendees were particularly excited to connect with engineers who were former students and to learn about the impactful work happening at Arm. The exhibition fostered meaningful one-on-one conversations, offered real-world insights into industry roles, and opened doors for future collaboration and careers. It was a powerful reminder of how accessible and inspiring the world of semiconductors can be.
The summit was an overwhelming success—bringing together innovation, collaboration, and community in a truly unprecedented way. As the General Chair of the summit and a Distinguished Arm Ambassador, I am deeply grateful to Arm for agreeing to be part of this landmark event. Their presence elevated the experience for everyone involved and exemplified the spirit of accessibility and excellence that defines the semiconductor industry.
I am also sincerely thankful to the incredible organizing team—Sharon Thomas, Deeptha Karur, Stephen Muttathil, Akshat Nerella, Digvijay Alluri, Oliver Jansen, Seth Mayhue, Alan Jaf, Nafi Baksh, Arju Kafle and all the Volunteers—whose dedication and hard work made this summit possible.
This event marks the beginning of a new tradition, and I’m already looking forward to building this momentum for an improved Semiconductor Summit in 2026.
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