Cadence on Campus - UC Berkeley
By Kira Jones
The Cadence Academic Network is collaborating with universities to build deeper connections between our business focus areas and academia. We are connecting with professors on their research, enabling access to cutting-edge Cadence technology in their classrooms and labs, and talking with students about how they can make an impact in the electronics industry by joining the Cadence team or one of our customers.
We have had Cadence on Campus at Clemson University, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and UT Austin, where we networked with hundreds of students and engaged in meaningful conversations with professors. Cadence highlighted challenges in the industry that the faculty and their students can work to address, and we got to learn about their research focus and interests, allowing our business leaders to find additional relevant research collaborations. Continuing to develop these fruitful connections, we hosted another Cadence on Campus, this time at UC Berkeley!
We kicked the day off with a morning workshop with faculty, PhD students, and Cadence folks. This workshop focused on Cadence’s technology leadership in our business spaces and presented some of the industry challenges we face. The UC Berkeley faculty shared research that complements Cadence’s technology and is of mutual interest.
The highlight of the day was the keynote delivered by Dr. Anirudh Devgan, president and CEO of Cadence. His invited talk, “The End of Technology as We Know It and the Rise of Computational Software,” was a part of the UC Berkeley College of Engineering “View from the Top” series.
With over 200 students and faculty in attendance, he was able to share about the future of Cadence and participate in a fireside chat hosted by Tsu-Jae King Liu, the Dean of the UC Berkeley College of Engineering. Students asked insightful questions about the future of technology, and we even heard from a future Cadence employee who will join the team once he graduates!
After a successful morning, Cadence leaders and Berkeley faculty got together for lunch and held further deep-dive discussions on collaboration and partnerships. With some of the leading minds in the industry in one room, the discussions focused on how computational software continues to revolutionize the industry—from chips to boards to complete systems and more.
We spoke with professors that are using Cadence tools for the most dynamic market applications, such as thermal simulations, PCB system automation, computational fluid dynamics, and even molecular analysis. For example, the chemistry department is interested in gaining access to Cadence’s OpenEye molecular modeling software. Together with UC Berkeley, we will be fostering the next generation of innovators from computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and chemistry!
While on campus, we were also able to engage directly with students! Cadence ambassadors were set up in Soda Hall with goodies, pizza, and a happy face to talk to students all about Cadence technology and life at Cadence. Some of our summer interns and future new grads stopped by to meet Cadence folks and connect with their future managers.
Later in the day, Sruba Seshadri, senior account technical executive, hosted a tech talk with IEEE titled “Cadence Is Everywhere – Revolution Through Evolution.” The group of 50+ students was very engaged and interested in learning more about Cadence technology and its application in their classrooms.
The future engineers are a bright group, and we’re looking forward to seeing how they use Cadence technology to create the technology of tomorrow.
Photo credit to Adam Lau, UC Berkeley College of Engineering
