Rising Stars Workshop 2024
Rising Stars 2024 Workshop
Monday February 19, 2024 (6:00pm to 9:30pm)
The IEEE SSCS Women in Circuits, together with ISSCC, is sponsoring the "Rising Stars 2024 Workshop" for outstanding students and young professionals in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. We will be hosting 24 bright minds from both academia and industry, with a holistic approach to diversity. The workshop includes a special dinner, keynote from IEEE Fellow Prof. Ingrid Verbauwhede, and a poster session with lightning talks.
Additionally, established members of academia and industry will talk about their unique journeys in a career panel: "Sharing our Paths to Success", touching upon educational choices, research pursuits, skill development, networking, work-life balance, effective transitioning between academia and industry, and more. The panel is open to all ISSCC 2024 attendees and the public.
Workshop Schedule (February 19, 2024)
Rising Stars 2024 Distinguished Speaker
In 2016 she received an advanced ERC grant and in 2017 a IEEE Computer Society Technical Achievement Award for pioneering contributions to design methodologies for tamper-resistant and secure electronic systems. In 2021, she received a second ERC grant to work on hardware acceleration for computing on encrypted data. In 2023, Professor Verbauwhede received the IEEE Donald O. Pederson Solid-State Circuits Award “for pioneering contributions to energy-efficient and high-performance secure integrated circuits and systems”.
Special Evening Event “Career Trajectories: Sharing Our Paths to Success”
In conjunction with ISSCC 2024, the IEEE SSCS Women in Circuits is organizing a Special Evening Event on Career Trajectories. This career panel event aims to provide a broader perspective on the potential career options available in academia and industry. The panelists will share their experiences, including the pivotal decisions they made, obstacles they encountered, and lessons they learned along the way. They will address critical topics such as educational choices, research pursuits, skill development, networking, work-life balance, and effective transitioning between academia and industry. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the skills, qualifications, and experiences necessary to excel in each domain, enabling them to make more deliberate choices and develop effective career strategies.
Speakers will present opening statements, which will be followed by a moderated panel on paths to success in deciding career trajectories.
Xiaolin Lu, TI, Dallas, TX
Xiaolin is Fellow and director of Texas Instruments Kilby Labs Sensing, Processing, and Innovation Group responsible for R&D on connected sensors, embedded AI, Signal Processing in sensing and communication for industrial internet and automobile applications. She is chartered to drive various semiconductor system level solutions using TI differentiated analog and embedded processors, connectivity, mixed signal components and power management devices. Xiaolin has worked on various embedded processing and communication system programs, including Smart Sensing with edge computing, Intelligent Industrial Internet Sensor Network systems, embedded AI hardware acceleration, Real-Time Locationing Service with wireless, Narrow Band Power Line Communication for Smart Grid, Wireless and Wired Communication Technologies, Smart Power IPs, Universal MAC for broadband IP, Multi-radio co-existence and digital mobile TV SoC, etc.
Xiaolin is well-known as an embedded system and software expert inside and outside TI and has given keynote and plenary talks at numerous technical conferences. In addition, she is the author/co-author of more than 60 U.S. issued patents and the recipient of the special recognition awards: 2021 Women Changing the Face of Dallas, 2016 Asian American Engineer of the Year, Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and National Women of Color award in the Technical Innovation. Xiaolin is United Way Tocqueville member for community services. In her free time, Xiaolin enjoys yoga practice, playing piano, and leisure travel.
Kofi Makinwa, TU Delft, Delft, Netherlands
Kofi Makinwa holds degrees from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (B.Sc., M.Sc.), Philips International Institute, Eindhoven (M.E.E.), and Delft University of Technology, Delft (Ph.D.). From 1989 to 1999, he was a research scientist at Philips Research Laboratories. In 1999, he joined Delft University of Technology, where he is currently an Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Professor and the Head of the Microelectronics Department. His research interests include the design of mixed-signal circuits, sensor interfaces, and smart sensors. This has resulted in 20+ books, 350+ technical articles and 30+ patents.
Dr. Makinwa is an IEEE fellow and a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a co-recipient of 18 best paper awards, including two from the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits (JSSC) and five from the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC). At the 70th anniversary of ISSCC, he was recognized as its top contributing author. Dr. Makinwa has been on the program committees of several IEEE conferences, and has served the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society as an AdCom member, a Distinguished Lecturer and a Guest Editor of the JSSC. He has also been the Analog Subcommittee Chair of ISSCC and a member of the editorial board of the Proceedings of the IEEE. He is currently a member of the VLSI ExCom, and a co-organizer of the Advances in Analog Circuit Design (AACD) Workshop and the Sensor Interfaces Meeting.
Kathleen Philips, IMEC, Eindhoven, Belgium
Dr.ir. Kathleen Philips is Vice President R&D at imec, and General Manager of imec at Holst Centre in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Kathleen has close to three decades of experience in micro- and nano-electronics R&D in world-class research facilities as imec, and Philips Research. At imec, she has held positions as director IoT, as program manager for Low Power Wireless and as a principal scientist. At Philips research, she has worked as a researcher on analog design in various European locations. Her technical background is in analog and RF design for ultra-low power wireless transceivers, timing generation and CMOS audio. Kathleen holds a Ph.D. from TU/E, The Netherlands and a MSc. degree in EE from KU-Leuven, Belgium.
Heein Yoon, UNIST, Ulsan, South Korea
Heein Yoon (Member, IEEE) received the B.S. (summa cum laude), and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea, in 2014 (early graduation), and 2019, respectively. Since 2019, she has been with Qualcomm Inc., San Diego, CA, USA, where she was involved in designing and developing the next-generation cellular transceivers for Snapdragon Flagship. Since 2022, she has been an Assistant Professor with UNIST. Her current research interests include small area, low-power, and high-performance analog, mixed-signal, and RF-integrated circuits for emerging wireless/wired standards. Dr. Yoon was a recipient of the Nine Bridge and Star Fellowship from UNIST in 2014, the Korean Government Scholarship (GPF) from 2015 to 2019, the IEEE SSCS Student Travel Grant Award (STGA) in 2017, the IEEE Student Research Preview (SRP) Award winner for the outstanding poster at International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in 2018, the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society (SSCS) Predoctoral Achievement Award winner for the period 2019 and 2020, and the Bronze Prize, the Honorable Mention, and the Bronze Prize at the 23rd, 24th, and 25th HumanTech Paper Award hosted by Samsung Electronics in 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively. Since 2023, Dr. Yoon has been a TPC Member of the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), DTC Subcommittee, and she served as the Chair for the 2022 IEEE International Symposium on Radio-Frequency Integration Technology (RFIT) Frequency Generation Subcommittee.
Past Events
2019 WiC Conference Events
WiC get together at A-SSCC 2019
On 5th November 2020, the second day of the IEEE Asian Solid-State Circuits Conference (A-SSCC) 2019, Milin Zhang and Julia Zhu of the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society (SSCS) Women in Circuits (WiC) organized a gathering for female conference attendees. The topic for the gathering was “No complain but sharing the Beauty of the Life as a Female IC Designer”.
Prof. Ken O, President of SSCS, joined the lunch gathering as a representative to the male integrated circuits (IC) designers. Prof. O shared his experience as a minority during his career. Milin Zhang from Tsinghua University, Julia Zhu from University of Macau, Ping-Hsuan Hsieh from National Tsinghua University, Pei-Yun Tsai from National Central University and Vanessa Chen from Carnegie Mellon University shared how to take care of yourself and live a better life. Julia talked about the fashion. Milin talked about the balance of family and work. Ping shared her experience in exercise.
This event was supported by the A-SSCC Organizational and Steering Committee and SSCS.
Diversity Luncheon at ESSDERC/ESSCIRC
The IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society (SSCS) and the Women in Circuits Committee hosted a diversity luncheon at the 49th European Solid-State Device Research Conference (ESSDERC)/45th European Solid-State Circuits Conference (ESSCIRC) in Kraków, Poland. Approximately 50 people attended the event, which emphasized ways to cultivate engineering confidence. This focus was selected because it is inclusive, appeals to a diverse audience, and can help engineers, no matter their background or level of expertise, to collectively become better.
How to Save Lives with Circuits Workshop at ISSCC 2019
Over 300 engineers attended the workshop entitled “How to Save Lives with Circuits” on Sunday 17 February at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis. The Workshop, co-sponsored by ISSCC and the SSCS Women in Circuits (WiC) committee, was made open to the public and had both ISSCC conference attendees and local engineers and students joining. The purpose of the workshop was to have leading women at all stages of their lives to talk on topics relevant to their career in healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI), and security - all hot topics in our field. Two senior women were invited to give distinguished talks, two junior women gave invited talks, and a panel session with the title "What Can Circuit Designers do to Bolster Security in AI-driven Healthcare?" capped off the evening with a third distinguished talk by a Turing Award winner.
Women in Circuits & Young Professionals Joint Mentoring Event at CICC 2019
The Women in Circuits and SSCS Young Professionals held a Joint Mentoring Event at CICC 2019. There were roundtable discussions and mentees had the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship, publications and career advice, and more.
Diversity Luncheon at VLSI 2019
The Diversity Luncheon featured interactive talks and panel discussions on how to increase diversity in the device and circuits community, followed by a networking lunch. Speakers for the event included Todd Waterman, Director at Texas Instruments; John Wuu, Fellow at AMD; Vivienne Sze, Professor at MIT; and Makoto Nagata, Professor at Kobe University.
2018 WiC Conference Events
WiC SSCS Diversity Luncheon at ESSIRC
SSCS Diversity Luncheon, The SSCS Women in Circuits group sponsored a luncheon on 5 September 2018 on how to increase diversity in the SSC community. Panelists in the discussion were Andreia Cathelin (STMicroelectronics), Sven Mattisson (Ericsson and Lund University), Jan Van der Spiegel (University of Pennsylvania), and Alice Wang (PsiKick).
Women in Circuits Networking Event at VLSI 2018
The IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society (SSCS) and the Electron Devices Society (EDS) hosted a Women in Engineering Networking Event in conjunction with the 2018 Symposium on VLSI Technology and Circuits. The networking event attracted over 20 attendees. The conversation flowed, connections were made, and delicious food was consumed at the beautiful Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The event began with opening statements from Prof. Edith Beigne, who organized the event. Prof. Beigne talked about the benefits of joining SSCS and EDS and the women in engineering program. She spoke about the various networking opportunities at IEEE conferences and local chapter events where women can meet and interact with each other.
Afterward, attendees had the opportunity to listen to an inspiring talk from Barbara De Salvo, Chief Scientist and Deputy Director of CEA-Leti, Grenoble, France. Barbara talked about the hardships that women have had to face when it comes to navigating in the engineering industry and her own career and experiences.
Women in Circuits Networking Luncheon at A-SSCC 2018
The IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society (SSCS) Women in Circuits (WiC) Committee hosted a networking luncheon in conjunction with the Asian Solid-State Circuits Conference (A-SSCC) in Tainan, Taiwan, on 6 November 2018. The event attracted 10 attendees from both academia and industry. Dr. Claire Chen, Director of Power Management BD, TSMC, gave an inspiring talk during the event, sharing her career and life experiences. Connections were made, and delicious food was consumed.
2018 WiC Networking Events
Bay Area Women in Circuits Luncheon
The IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society (SSCS) hosted its second annual Women in Circuits (WiC) Bay Area Networking Luncheon on Friday, 9 November, in Palo Alto, California. The luncheon attracted over 35 attendees from the Bay Area. Yildiz Sinangil, Apple, talked about the benefits of joining SSCS. Alice Wang, PsiKick Senior Director, and Yan Li, Senior Fellow at Western Digital also spoke. SSCS Santa Clara Valley Chapter Chair, Mojtaba Sharifzadeh, gave a brief talk about how to get involved on the local level. Afterward, attendees had the opportunity to meet and mingle with each other.
2017 WiC Conference Events
ESSCIRC Women in Circuits Mentoring Event
A Women in Circuits Luncheon and Mentoring Event was held at ESSCIRC 2017 in Leuven, Belgium. Special guest speaker Francoise Chombard (Melexis) talked about why businesses need women and how businesses can benefit from women in the workplace. The talk was followed by lunch on the terrace with networking and casual conversation. The participants were tasked with brainstorming and writing down what women can do to contribute to STEM.
VLSI Symposia Women in Circuits Luncheon
The VLSI Symposia Women in Circuits Luncheon was held on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 in conjunction with VLSI Symposia in Kyoto, Japan. The ladies attending the event had the opportunity to make connections with leading experts from industry and academia and talk to fellow women about work-life balance, career opportunities, and entrepreneurship.
2017 WiC Conference Events
Bay Area Women in Circuits Luncheon
The 1st annual Bay Area Women in Circuits Luncheon was held on Friday, July 14th in Palo Alto. Speakers included Kate Bergeron, Vice President of Hardware Engineering at Apple and Rikky Muller, Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley and Co-Founder at Cortera Neurotechnologies Inc. The talks were followed by mentoring roundtable discussions.
Resources
Links
GoEngGirl webpage: http://www.onwie.ca/programs/
Article by Mary Wells, creator of the program: https://www.design-
KU Leuven Innovation Lab: https://eng.kuleuven.be/
Drive a wheelchair with your eyes: https://people.cs.
Student Catapult project: https://www.
2022 SSCS Women in Circuits Virtual Retreat
Watch Here
NextGen 2022 Workshop:
Webinar: Physics is Tough, but Girls are Tougher
Abstract: In this talk, Wanda Gass examines the business case for why we need more women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Gass talks about Design Connect Create, a camp for young girls interested in physics.. She will show that the summer program translates into participants having more self confidence, better grades and higher percentage of young women receiving a STEM degree in college.
About Wanda Gass: Wanda Gass graduated from Rice University with a BS in Electrical Engineering in 1978 and received an MS in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University in 1980. She worked at Texas Instruments for 32 years before retiring in 2012. Wanda is an IEEE Fellow for her pioneering work in the development of TI’s first Digital Signal Processor (DSP). In 2014 she founded Design Connect Create, a nonprofit focused on expanding the reach of a successful program in Dallas to other schools districts across the country.
Webinar: Leveraging the Strengths of Female Engineers in Today's Business Environment
Abstract: Differences between the brains of men and women result in different engineering styles. These styles complement one another and are powerful when combined. Women would achieve greater success for themselves and their teams if the engineering community recognized the value of and better leveraged female engineering styles.
About Susanne Paul: Dr. Paul holds a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has 29 years of industry experience. Most recently she was Senior Director of Technology at Qualcomm. Prior to that she was co-founder and Chief Technologist of Black Sand Technologies, which Qualcomm acquired in 2014. She created the foundational IP behind two successful startup companies, Kenet Inc. and Black Sand. Dr. Paul received industry awards, including EDN’s "Innovator of the Year" award and “Product of the Year” awards from both EDN and Electronic Products magazines. She has been featured in Forbes and was named one of the “35 People Who Will Shape Our Future” by Texas Monthly magazine. Dr. Paul holds 45 patents. She has 3 children ages 13, 11, and 9.