USC will offer one of the nation's first signal integrity engineering programs starting this fall.
Signal integrity is "the subject of how to design the computer chip boards in an efficient way," said Yinchao Chen, associate professor of electrical engineering.
As new technology raises the speed at which electrical components "talk" to each other, the challenge to correctly send and receive signals becomes greater, driving an increased demand for engineers with these skills.
"There is a shortage for signal-integrity engineers not only nationally but all across the world," said Brian Knotts. "This program could open the doors for Columbia to be a domestic growth site."
"Within two weeks, the 25 open seats for the program were full," said Knotts, board manager of Intel's Columbia Design Center. "The program will attract students who ordinarily would not come to USC." Students will complete the program with eight other electrical engineering courses.
Intel donated $33,000 worth of high-speed computer workstations and other equipment to the program. Ansoft Corporation will contribute high-performance electronic design automation (EDA) software, valued at $100,000. Chen, who will be teaching these courses in the fall, said the street value is $2 million.
"This will help all other existing research and provide USC with more credibility with industry and academia," said Knotts.
Graduates will succeed on several fronts, said Abhi Talwalkar, vice president of Intel's Enterprise Platform Group.
"Graduates of this program, whether they study at the university or through its long-distance learning program, will be well positioned to fill the worldwide need for engineers in this field, at Intel and elsewhere," said Talwalkar.
Intel employees and other students will be able to take courses through the university's distance-learning program. Students worldwide can audit the courses, enroll at the university or take the new courses for credit as they pursue master's degrees in electrical engineering at other institutions.
"There is a flood of Intel employees worldwide willing to take the courses via distance learning," Knotts said.
Since USC has developed the new signal-integrity program, Intel has invited the university, along with other prestigious universities such as Stanford, to travel to their various education career fairs.
Intel's Columbia campus is becoming a center of excellence for signal-integrity expertise within Intel's Enterprise Products and Services Division. Intel employs 160 people in Columbia. The world's largest chip designer, Intel is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products.
Richard Mellitz and Hao Li from Intel's Columbia center will teach the first of two courses this fall. Chen, Jerry Hudgins and former USC Vice Provost for Research Paul Huray will teach the second half of the program in the spring.
