Dr. Hamid Mahmoodi, Professor in Computer and Electrical Engineering, leading a team of faculty members from Engineering and Computer Science at San Francisco State University (Drs. Hao Jiang, Xiaorong Zhang, Pooyan Fazli, and David Quintero), received a new award of $749,304 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program (2020-2023). This MRI award supports the acquisition of a state-of-the-art Automatic Test Equipment at SFSU School of Engineering and Department of Computer Science to accelerate research, expand research training capacity, and build new programs on electronic design and testing as well as collaborative robotics. This industry-standard test system (Teradyne J750Ex-HD) will bring new experimental capability to test a variety of integrated circuits and circuit boards and will enable functional tests, parametric measurements, memory tests, scan tests, and speed tests. This MRI equipment acquisition will create new research opportunities and enhance existing research capabilities at an urban, Hispanic-serving, non-Ph.D. granting institution in the critical areas of hardware security, machine learning hardware, neural machine interface, wearable robotics, and artificial intelligence in robotics. The equipment will catalyze the establishment of an expert testing center that will benefit the broader research community and promote extensive collaborations with academic and industry partners. It will provide opportunities for Master’s and undergraduate students to engage in frontier research using cutting-edge technologies, which is critical for them to compete successfully for positions in industry or entrance into Ph.D. programs. The Automatic Test Equipment will provide a new tool for recruiting, retaining, and engaging students and faculty members from underrepresented groups in engineering and computer science at SFSU.

Dr. Hamid Mahmoodi, Professor in Computer and Electrical Engineering, leading a team of faculty members from the School of Engineering and the Department of Physics & Astronomy at San Francisco State University (Drs. Hao Jiang, Xiaorong Zhang, David Quintero, and AKM Newaz), received an instrumentation award of $599,684 from the Department of Defense (DoD) Research and Education Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI)(2019-2021). This award supports the acquisition of a state-of-the-art high frequency oscilloscope, logic stimulator and analyzer, precision source/measure unit, and power supplies from Keysight Technologies. The instruments will be connected and synchronized to provide a major system that will be used for testing, debugging, and characterizing digital, analog and mixed signal integrated circuits and circuit boards. It will open new avenues for research at an institution that serves many students from underrepresented groups. The instrument will provide new multi-user experimental research capabilities and augment existing capabilities to support diverse research areas in hardware security, machine learning, neural-machine interface, robotics, and semiconductors that are of interest to all DoD agencies. In addition to enhancing research capacity, the system will provide opportunities for Master’s and undergraduate students to engage in research using leading-edge technologies enabling them to acquire the skills to compete successfully for positions in the technology sector and/or matriculate in Ph.D. programs. The equipment acquired will provide opportunities for recruiting, retaining, and engaging faculty and students, in particular those from underrepresented groups, in engineering and physics at one of the nation’s most ethnically and culturally diverse universities. It will thereby contribute to increasing diversity in the STEM fields, while training the next generation of a highly skilled workforce in engineering and physics.

NeCRL is the 2010 recipient of the Synopsys Charles Babbage University Grant. The Charles Babbage University grant offered by Synopsys Inc provides NeCRL with the computational resources and state-of-the-art Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools for integration in research and teaching activities. Please click here for the press release.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a Major Research Instrumentation grant in the amount of $262,634 to the School of Engineering, 2010-2013. The grant is in support of acquisition of a temperature-controlled probe station and semiconductor parameter analyzer to enhance research and research training in engineering and physics at SFSU. The objective of the research is to probe and characterize circuits, sensors, nanostructures, and electro-optic devices, thereby opening new avenues for nano-scale research at San Francisco State University, an institution serving a large population of under-represented minorities. The PI is Dr. H. Mahmoodi and the Co-PIs are Drs. H. Jiang, K. Teh, C. Chen, and W. Man.