IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2021 - 12

introduce intelligence in electronics and
we'd like to introduce it so we can do two
things: allow electronics to perform very
fast in real time, and allow them to make
decisions autonomously and not have to
rely on a third entity, which makes things
much slower, " Katehi says.
In our everyday tech life today, we have
artificial intelligence (AI), suites of algorithms
and codes that introduce processes
in a given piece of hardware. Think of the
complicated algorithms used in Facebook
and Google search engines, or the AI that
is used in phones for facial recognition. AI,
however, is like the software brain sending
directions to the hardware body.
In her research, Katehi is studying
how to move beyond this-how to
design hardware in a sophisticated way
so that it can play a key role in facilitating
intelligence in the electronic. Step
by step, she is trying to embed the software
in the hardware, making one part
of the other, so that the brain is like the
octopi neurons embedded in the body.
" An interesting example might be
reception with our phones, " Katehi says.
" If we have an issue with reception, we
need to troubleshoot that on our own.
If the phone had fundamental intelligence,
it would be able to indicate where it
should be for the best reception, or would
even be able to make connection decisions.
It would be able to foresee my needs
and be able to respond. "
The lab that Katehi and her team
are putting together is specialized, and
because Katehi joined just a few months
before the COVID-19 pandemic, the labs
are not yet being utilized. Still, the team
has been busy modeling, which is where
circuit work always starts. Now they are
preparing for the next step-fabricating
circuits-and they are growing their
team while " being very selective in finding
the people who really want to do this
type of work. "
" It is so exciting to be back full time
doing research, " Katehi says. For the last
20 years, she has been involved in either
part- or full-time administration, and
full-time research is something she has
missed. She missed teaching and being
fully dedicated to her research. She especially
enjoyed building relationships with
12
Katehi, shown here as an assistant professor at the University of Michigan,
understands the effect mentorship can have on a young woman's career.
her students and postdoctoral researchers
For all Katehi's contributions as a
scientist and engineer, she considers her
students her greatest accomplishment.
A Dedicated Mentor
" Professions are not learned from books
and courses, " Katehi says. " Books and
courses don't show you what it means to
actually be a circuit designer. You have to
find people who will take the time to help
you learn, give you useful information,
and be your advocate when you need it. "
In her own career, Katehi searched
for her own mentors. She was often the
only female in the room, but it's not
gender that matters, Katehi says. She
looked for men in her field whom she
respected and who were doing work that
genuinely interested her. " You approach
people and show them you're interested
in what they're doing. And you have to
actually be interested. Otherwise, it's
opportunistic and it shows, " she says.
" You also have to admire them. I never
approached someone I didn't admire
even if that person could have helped me
in one way or another. "
A true mentorship built on respect and
caring will last for a long time. Katehi has
built these relationships with many of her
students, and she still has those relationships
with her own mentors. Mentors,
she says, become like family, in large part
because a true mentorship is an authentic
relationship built with respect and admiration
on both sides.
Throughout her career, Katehi came
up against major barriers, and she credits
her mentors with helping her bypass those
barriers. Mentors helped her learn how to
deal with issues and move on.
Katehi and her husband married and
Katehi's mother taught her to " never
compromise about the things you
care about. "
IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2021
had their son while they were at UCLA in
the 1980s. They were the only married
graduate students, and yet, Katehi says,
they " lived in a bubble " because their
friends and advisors were so supportive.
When they left that bubble, however, they
realized that their experiences were the
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2021

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