Chen Named Apple New Silicon Initiative Faculty Fellow

Vanessa Chen, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been named a Faculty Fellow to Apple’s New Silicon Initiative (NSI). The Apple NSI Faculty Fellows Program, part of Apple’s NSI, is designed to strengthen engagement with university faculty and their research teams by fostering close collaboration with Apple engineers.

“I’m truly honored to be selected as an Apple NSI Faculty Fellow,” says Chen. “Carnegie Mellon University is uniquely positioned to educate the next generation of IC designers, and this recognition motivates me to continue advancing research and innovation in silicon technologies.”

Chen’s research focuses on AI-enhanced circuits and systems, including intelligent sensory interfaces, analog/RF hardware security, and ubiquitous sensing and computing platforms. A recipient of the NSF CAREER Award and the Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering Dean’s Early Career Fellowship, as well as many other prestigious honors, Chen actively serves on multiple technical program committees and editorial boards of IEEE conferences and journals and was recently named a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society.

Apple’s NSI program aims to prepare students for careers in hardware technology, computer architecture, and silicon chip design. The program’s objective is to address the growing demand in the US for a workforce in IC design and computer architecture areas. The NSI team provides various modes of support to help increase visibility in microelectronic circuits and hardware design. By reintroducing IC design and tapeout-to-silicon courses in the electrical and computer engineering curriculum, the program enables students to take IC design courses and a VLSI path, while gearing them for a career in hardware engineering.