2007 International Conference on Microelectronic Systems
Education
Dr. Andrzej Rucinski, University of New Hampshire Professor
Title: Microelectronic Systems Education in the Global Economy Era
Abstract:
Currently, fewer ASIC designers are needed as before and the
creation of intellectual property (IP) blocks is being performed
in developing countries like India. As a result of this shift in
design practices, a microelectronic design methodology that:
(1)de-emphasize our traditional ASIC design and fab courses, and
(2)concentrate on system integration of IP blocks for programmable
SoCs such as XILINX VirtexII-Pro becomes an attractive
alternative to more traditional ASIC style experiences. Both the
University of New Hampshire and the University of Tennessee are
restructuring our own curricula to respond to these challenges.
We do not plan to eliminate entirely our custom VLSI courses
which deal with physical level issues such as signal integrity,
design for testability and design for manufacturability. However,
we recognize that the number of ASIC design starts is continuing
to go down while the number of FPGA designs is increasing. At the
same time, we realize that globalization of engineering design
means that many of the IP blocks needed for applications will be
designed overseas, not in the USA. On the bright side, we believe
that US designers will still be needed but will focus more on
customizing FPGA platforms to the needs of local customers. Thus,
we need to emphasize our FPGA-based courses even more than in the
past and concentrate on providing students with team projects
that sharpen their skills in developing specifications,
integrating IP blocks and filling in new ones where needed, and
in verification using both simulation and FPGA-based prototype
boards. Because of collaboration, learning management tools,
non-technical and technical components become equally important.
Both centralized and global educational models are presented and
collaboration scenarios proposed for consideration and
discussion.
Bio:
Dr. Andrzej Rucinski was born in Gdansk, Poland. He received his M.Sc.
from the Technical University of Odessa, Ukraine in 1973 and his Ph.D.
in Technical Sciences from the Technical University of Gdanski, Poland in 1982.
Since September 1983 he has been a member of the Electrical and Computer
Engineering Department at the University of New Hampshire.