December 1, 2024
Local semiconductor companies, one founded and one a startup run by ECE graduates, gave students an insider’s perspective on life working at their companies.
Fifteen ECE undergraduate and graduate students gained insight into the inner workings of two semiconductor companies during fall break in October 2024 without leaving Ann Arbor, Michigan. They are part of the Fall 2024 ECE Expeditions program, created to give ECE students the opportunity to learn more about the daily lives of ECE graduates in industry.
“I really enjoyed being able to talk directly to engineers about their work,” said one student.
Students said their favorite part of the day was interacting with people in the industry, taking lab tours, and learning about what goes on within companies.
SiTime
They started their day with SiTime. SiTime is an analog and semiconductor company specializing in silicon MEMS timing. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ECE alumnus Piyush Sevalia (MSE EE) is executive VP of marketing at SiTime, and alumnus Jay Mitchell (Mechanical Engineering Ph.D.) gave students an overview of the company.
SiTime has twice been named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500™ list, which recognizes the most innovative and fastest-growing companies across North America over a three-year period. It also received “Big Idea” awards in all categories at the 2023 IDEA Awards and jointly won the 2023 Product of the Year Award with Analog Devices.
Moveras
The students spent the rest of the day at Movellus. Movellus is your high-performance, energy-efficient silicon infrastructure IP partner. These provide clocking, droop detection, and power solutions. The company was founded in 2014 by ECE alumni and CEO Mo Faisal (Dr. EE) and Jeff Fredenburg. Professor David Wentzloff, an advisor to the founders, is a member of the Board of Directors.
The students enjoyed interacting with Mr. Faisal and four other staff members, as well as ECE alumni within the company.
Fish Yu Huang (Digital Design Engineer), David Moore (Timing Product Staff Engineer and Founding Team Member), Zeqi Han (Physical Design Engineer), Fred Buhler (Post-Silicon Verification Engineer), and Qianxu Li (Post-Silicon Design Engineer).
Faisal was on campus recently to receive the 2023 ECE Rising Star Alumni Award. Learn more about his career and watch his talk.
Students interested in the next ECE Expeditions should check their email from the department or visit the website for additional information.
