IEEE Solid-State Circuits Magazine - Fall 2014 - 21

home exams: it seemed unbelievable
to me that I was allowed to work out
the exam problems at home, merely
by signing a statement certifying that
I did the work alone and did not spend
more than three hours on it. I said to
myself, "these people trust me!", and
was brought to tears (literally).
I was given transfer credit for
general science classes, and had to
start from zero in engineering. I was
not asked to take organic chemistry! By the way, I want to share an
incident from my first days in Minneapolis. I had cut myself, and went
to a pharmacy. I knew what I wanted,
but for some reason the word would
not come to me. The pharmacist
kept showing me products I did not
recognize, like betadyne. After a few
frustrated attempts to explain what I
wanted, I took a piece of paper and
wrote on it "CH3CH2OH," and showed
it to the pharmacist. He went, "Ohhh!
Alcohol!..." So there was some use for
the organic chemistry I had learned,
after all. I felt mildly proud.
I plunged into my classes with
enthusiasm, and learned a lot from
them. I was experiencing, for the
first time, what it is like to be motivated to study at a university. At the
same time, I knew my limited money
would be over in a few months, so I
had to find a part-time job. Thanks to
my electronics experience, I quickly
found a job as a technician in research
labs, and later at the Space Science
Center. I kept taking a full-time academic load, and also took courses in
the summer. I graduated in less than
two years, "with high distinction."
In the quarter following graduation, I became a lab teaching assistant.
I was told that there was a recurring
problem with the students' ability to
use the oscilloscope. I offered to make
an instructional tape, called "Everything You Always Wanted to Know
About the Tektronix 503 Oscilloscope,
But Were Afraid to Ask"; students who
felt they needed an introduction to the
instrument or a refresher, would sit in
front of the oscilloscope and be guided
by the tape through a set of detailed
instructions, trying things hands-on.

In 1972, I started my graduate studies
at the University of California, Berkeley. I arrived there with a desire to do
true research. I had already received
an invitation from Prof. Leon Chua,
to work with him. So as soon as I
arrived at Berkeley, I went to see him.
He described to me his latest brainchild, the memristor, and showed me
a large box full of electronics which,
across its two terminals, behaved
like a memristor. He told me that
part of my research would involve
the making of an improved circuit
with memristive behavior. The whole
thing sounded intriguing. But then
he looked at me intensely in the eye,
and said "I want you to work very
hard!" That was something that worried me. I had no problem with working hard, but I had just arrived at
Berkeley, a place full of life, not just
work, and I wanted to taste that life,
too. I had a fellowship, so I decided
to politely decline Prof. Chua's offer
and keep an eye for other possible
projects/advisors. In the mean time,
I started my class work, and I soon
became a teaching assistant, which

meant that there was no urgency to
settle on an advisor.
The department of electrical engineering and computer science was a
very exciting place. I attended and/or
audited classes on integrated circuit
(IC) design taught by Paul Gray, Dave
Hodges, and Bob Meyer, and learned
a lot from them. All three had industrial experience, and this permeated
their classes; you could bet that what
they taught you was highly relevant.
In addition, those classes were full of
Silicon Valley engineers, most of them
studying for a Master's degree. They
asked very relevant questions, and
this made those IC design classes all
the more interesting. But I also took
classes in many other subjects, including theory of signals and noise, communications theory, circuit theory
(then called "network theory"), linear
systems theory, and nonlinear control.
These classes satisfied my theoretical
side, which to this day co-exists with
my practical side. Memorable among
those classes was the one on linear
systems, taught by Charles Desoer.
He had a real impact on me with his
knowledge and rigor. Later, I had the
opportunity to teach an undergraduate
class at Berkeley based on Desoer and
Kuh's Basic Circuit Theory [1], which
had a decisive effect on me.
Time was passing by, and I still
did not have an advisor. I thus
approached Bob Meyer, who told me
I could work with him on oscillators.
Having already made many oscillators, somehow the area sounded too
familiar to me (I didn't know any
better, to realize how deep a topic
this can be), so I did not accept; I
wanted more unfamiliar territory
(this attitude is something that
never left me). It was now getting
late; I had been at Berkeley for two
years already. In the meantime, I
had made what I called an "electronic musical instrument played
by singing or whistling," which had
even made the local news.3 I invited
Paul Gray to the lab, demonstrated

2) I recently learned that other universities,
in different states that begin with an "M," also
call themselves "the U of M."

3) I tried to patent it, only to find out that the
idea already existed; "nothing new under the
sun," as they say.

I was given the OK, prepared the
instructions-to-be-taped, and asked a
professor to record them in his voice,
so that students would not have to
struggle with my strong accent. The
tapes worked well, and I understand
they continued to be used even after I
left. I later repeated this approach as a
teaching assistant at Berkeley.
I feel I owe a lot to the University of
Minnesota, affectionately called "the U
of M."2 It provided me with a high-level
education, motivated me, gave me an
opportunity to show what I can do,
and paved the path that allowed me
to go on to a rewarding career. What
more can a student ask for? I owe a lot
to them. So it was very moving for me
when, in 2013, the university gave me
its Outstanding Achievement Award.
To this day, the U of M has a special
place in my heart.

Berkeley

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