Degree Program: Computer Engineering, Ph.D.
Graduate Institution: UC Santa Cruz
Department: Computer Engineering
Hometown: Dhaka, Bangladesh
“If you look at the power consumption of the microprocessor or the CPU, a big chunk of power comes in by the clock network, so I proposed a new paradigm of clocking that utilizes current rather than voltage.”
Tell us about your current position.
I’m a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Michigan, Dearborn. I chose to come here because it’s close to a large automotive industry. I’m doing a lot of research here and trying to build a new VSLI lab. I’m bringing international students here, including a couple students from Bangladesh who will join my team. I’m moving more toward the automotive industry, so it’s a new area of research.
Tell us about your studies in the Baskin School of Engineering at UC Santa Cruz.
I was mostly working on microprocessor design and how to reduce power there. Our primary goal was not increasing our frequency, because if we increase the frequency, there will be more power, and power consequently increases the heat of the machine so the speed cannot be increased. So that’s why we try to reduce the power to make it run faster. That was one of the main reasons I was working on clock network design. If you look at the power consumption of the microprocessor or the CPU, a big chunk of power comes in by the clock network so I proposed a new paradigm of clocking that utilizes current rather than voltage. Matthew Guthaus, myself, and UC Santa Cruz have a patent on that project and are working on a second patent for the work that I’ve done.
Why Baskin School of Engineering?
I received my PhD from the Computer Engineering Department in designer commission of VLSI and I worked specifically on clock distribution network design. I was doing my graduate studies in Canada. At the time, I was mostly doing low level design so I was looking for a supervisor who could help me move up to system level VLSI design. I met with Professor Matthew Guthaus, the director of the VLSI design lab at UC Santa Cruz, and he offered me the position. He was very well-connected with the industry and he had a lot of good publications. I was very impressed with his profile and I wanted to work with him and learn more. I also valued the fact that UC Santa Cruz is close to Silicon Valley.
What advice would you like to give other students?
Work hard, be patient and focused, and success will come.
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