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INTERVIEW simple. Power and ground. Check the voltage on every node/pin. Don’t assume anything. Once the basics/ bias checks out, start varying over ranges. Do min and max input get expected output? Then follow the signal through the system. What has been your favorite project? My favorite project was constructing a horn antenna to be used at the “Big Dish” on Stanford University’s campus. The operating frequency was 330MHz, so the horn was about the size of a coffin. I soldered copper clad pieces together and built a wooden exoskeleton for support. It was awesome to see the mathematics come to life, to test the antenna response in a warehouse at SRI, and then to mount it on that big, beautiful dish and see it work! Well, it worked until a bird decided that it was a wonderful place to build a nest. Do you have any note-worthy engineering experiences? I’m particularly proud of the Test Development Engineering Program I championed at San Jose State University. After noticing that electrical engineering students were finding jobs as apps, test and product engineers, I joined with a team of folks from Agilent, National Semiconductor, Teradyne and Intersil to put together a program to teach skills needed for these areas. Students spent the spring semester learning lab techniques like measurement and soldering. They designed a PCB to test an IC and presented their work to a panel from the supporting companies. In the summer they had internships with the sponsors. In the fall, they returned to school and proceeded in their work—this time on ATEs. Along the way, they learned a lot about the semiconductor industry and where they would fit in. Every student got a job. They even nominated me for an IEEE certificate of appreciation. Cool stuff. If I was to tell you some of the cool things I work on now, it would break customer confidentiality. Let’s just The global work force is adjusting its footprint. While it might be advantageous to use cheaper labor, the time, cultural and communication differences are a big stumbling block for projects that span multiple continents. say that it’s fun to walk around Best Buy and see all of the products that use an IC from Intersil—especially one of the light sensors. How is academia different than industry? Huge difference. From the students perspective, you learn a lot of math in college. You can solve KVL and KCL with Thevenin and Norton equivalents. You can take derivatives with respect to time and to voltage. In industry, the derivatives are with respect to cost and to customer interest. It’s hard to put those into matrices (yet MBAs and economists do it all the time). From a professor standpoint, you are trying to get as many students through the system as possible. There is so much that could be taught, but there are also so many regulations about teaching (think ABET accredited). Many professors teach the same material because it is approved. It’s a lot of work to put a class together and it is too easy to use the same material “one more time”. Besides, the point of school is to learn the basics, right? The basics don’t change much. Still, the motivation and end goals do change. Our university classrooms are not at the forefront of technology. (One could argue that the research labs at a university house the forefront of technology. Yes, a ittybitty slice of it.) Remember, though, that engineering is growing and changing every day. University curriculums, therefore, must theoretically teach more and more each year. Students don’t stay in school longer, so sacrifices have to be made. Often that means tough choices. I, personally, prefer the “real world” where the technological innovation creates a product or device that enables product differentiation or EEWeb | Electrical Engineering Community Visit www.eeweb.com 6 FEATURED INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW new platforms. People use money to say what they like and don’t like. It is impossible to survive in the semiconductor industry if you produce the same product year after year. This ever-present drive to improve and innovate is what makes it fun. What are you currently working on? I am the new manager for the applications group focused on optical sensors. (These are ambient light or proximity (IR) sensors.) I have the privilege of leading a talented team of engineers as we work with the greatest electronics manufacturers around the world. Sensors are special because it isn’t just an electrical system. It’s an optical and mechanical one, too. Will the device be behind some kind of glass? Will there be plastic with a hole to allow access for the light? How much light can bounce around inside the product? How reflective is an object you want to target? (Black hair happens to be very non-reflective, yet the cell phone manufacturers want to turn off the touch screen before you bring the phone to your ear. They don’t want it to only work for blondes…) What direction do you see your business heading in the next few years? Sensors are growing like crazy! Consumer devices want to interact more naturally with their users. They want to save us power by turning down the backlight of a screen in low-light conditions, so we can enjoy longer battery life. They want to understand our questions and interpret our gestures. They want to anticipate our desires and prepare. They want to help camera understand what kind of lighting conditions they operate in so we can take better pictures. There are so many more examples. What challenges do you foresee in our industry? There are lots of challenges. The global work force is adjusting its footprint. While it might be advantageous to use cheaper labor, the time, cultural and communication differences are a big stumbling block for projects that span multiple continents. Still, money is a stronger driving force (especially in the limping recession) so we are willing to accept the challenge. Another challenge is “the next big thing”. Cell phones kept getting smaller and then acquired touch screens. They have great cameras and organize our personal and professional lives. Really, though, we haven’t seem much that is new. The platform seems to be moving from hardware to software. It’s not “What can the silicon do”, but more “What can we do with the silicon?” Almost everyone has a cell phone. What is the next device everyone will have? EEWeb | Electrical Engineering Community Visit www.eeweb.com 7 FEATURED INTERVIEW
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Page 5: INTERVIEW love solving problems, so
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Page 13 and 14: TECHNICAL ARTICLE Set H Reset H Fig
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