More chip manufacturing is coming to New York.

“They’re kind of a commodity to everybody,” said Nathaniel Cady, SUNY Polytechnic Institute Empire Innovation Professor and interim vice president of research. “But they’re literally the latest and greatest technology.”

Chipmaker Micron Technology announced plans Tuesday to build a multibillion-dollar semiconductor factory in Clay. It’s exciting news for educators and researchers across the region.

“We basically have a path towards taking what we’re doing in the laboratory and transitioning it to the fabrication facility,” Cady said.

The factory is expected to create tens of thousands of jobs over the next two decades and they’ll be available to people from all walks of life.

“Whether you’re at a two-year college, whether you’re coming from a different industry, whether you’re an engineer, whether you’re a Ph.D. researcher,” said Robert Geer, SUNY Polytechnic Institute nanoscale science professor. “You know from soup to nuts.”

Geer said an announcement like this sends a reassuring signal to students interested in the field.

“Once you leave this building, young people and students don’t really know what a great career path is,” Geer said.

Filling jobs though is a challenge for just about every industry at the moment which means Micron will likely lean heavily on nearby tech-driven colleges.

“When you look at the density of universities, colleges, community colleges in this region I think it’s tremendous opportunity for us to respond to that workforce development need,” said Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Martin Schmidt.

It’s a task educators across the region are excited about and are confident it can be achieved.

“Everyone needs people to make a factory run,” Geer said. “Micron is not going to be any different.”