A Chinese engineer who worked on semiconductors at Apple has returned home to teach at his alma mater in Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province, joining a wave of scientists and other tech talent to leave the United States.
Wang Huanyu – who worked as an implementation engineer for central processing units at Apple’s US headquarters from August 2021 to December 2024 – is now a professor in the School of Integrated Circuits (ICs) at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), according to his profile on the school’s website.
His return to the mainland is expected to help bolster the academic credentials of domestic schools with IC-focused curriculum, as the country pushes for self-sufficiency in this field amid US sanctions that have restricted the mainland’s access to advanced semiconductors and chip-manufacturing equipment.
More than 10 universities in China have each established an IC school dedicated to training the next generation of tech talent.
These include Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University and Peking University, whose IC faculties were both formed in 2021. HUST founded its IC school in 2023.
Wang did not immediately respond to an emailed inquiry on Wednesday.
