Embodied intelligence in electronics: A new era in high-frequency circuit design

Abstract: The future of electronic systems lies in our ability to include intelligence in their design specifications. Incorporating intelligence will demand a change in the way we design electronics. Recent studies on cognition and intelligence have demonstrated that cognitive processes are not disconnected from motor-sensory processes but are directly influenced by the body’s interactions with its environment. Intelligence cannot be achieved without a body that can interact with its environment and learn from these interactions. The design of an autonomous system is based on its ability to acquire data via its physical and social interactions with its environment, making mobility and adaptability important physical aspects. An intelligent wireless network of sensors and actuators is a concept that requires a co-design of computer architectures, learning algorithms, materials, robotics, and electronics for sensing and communication. This co-design is not available today but will be needed for the successful implementation of intelligence in systems that will be part of 5G and beyond. This presentation will discuss all the opportunities for bringing intelligence into design of electronics along with the impacts on existing traditional approaches.

Bio: Linda Katehi is the O’Donnell Endowed Chair in Engineering and a Distinguished TEES Chair Professor of Electronics in the Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Material Science and Engineering departments at Texas A&M, College Station. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), The American Academy for Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Innovators (NAI) and a fellow of IEEE. She chaired the President’s Committee for the National Medal of Science and was the chair of the Secretary of Commerce’s Committee for the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. She is a Fellow and served on the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) where she also served as the President for the Engineering Section. She served as a member of the National Higher Education Board, a member of the Higher Education Business Forum and many other national and international boards and committees. From 2017 until 2020 she served as the President-Elect, President and Past-President of the (WEPAN) Women in Engineering Professional Advocacy Network.

Prof. Katehi’s research focuses on the design and development of intelligent communication electronics, an area that involves, deep machine learning and analog neuromorphic computations for the development of electronic components and systems that can evolve the performance on the basis of the operational space and collected data. These new research directions are founded in her broad experience in the development and characterization (theoretical and experimental) of microwave, millimeter-wave printed circuits; computer-aided design of VLSI interconnects; development and characterization of micromachined circuits for microwave, millimeter-wave, and submillimeter-wave applications including MEMS switches, high-Q evanescent mode filters, and MEMS devices for circuit reconfigurability; development of low-loss lines for submillimeter-wave and terahertz frequency applications; theoretical and experimental study of uniplanar circuits for hybrid-monolithic and monolithic oscillator, amplifier, and mixer applications; and theoretical and experimental characterization of photonic bandgap materials. Some of her research projects that have created new directions in high-frequency frequency design include: W-band power cube; novel packaging approaches for high-density three-dimensional ICs; device and circuit approaches for next-generation wireless communications; MEMS for microwave and millimeter-wave applications; study of photonic bandgap substrates for use in frequency-selective structures; silicon-based on-wafer packaging for high isolation in high-density circuits; high-Q micromachined resonators for RF filters/diplexers; and MEMS switches. Her work in electronic circuit design has led to numerous national and international awards both as a technical leader and educator, 19 U.S. patents, and an additional 5 U.S. patent applications. She is the author or co-author of 10 book chapters and over 700 refereed publications in journals and symposia proceedings.

Additional Information:

Please contact Lisa Spicer at lms8@psu.edu for Zoom information.