TI unveils prize for top analog designs by engineering undergraduates

The prize is named for recently retired TI chairman, Tom Engibous, who began his career in 1976 as an analog design engineer and retired in 2008 as chairman. Under his leadership, TI became the world leader in analog semiconductors. As CEO and chairman, Engibous took a personal interest in encouraging engineering students to pursue studies and careers in analog design. He has often spoken of how an increasingly digital world ironically needs more analog circuitry in order to translate real-world signals into the ones and zeros of digital processing. But the number of electrical engineering graduates who focus on the analog aspect of semiconductor and equipment design is small compared with the need.

“A shortage of talented students in analog could become the single most limiting factor in electronics innovations of the future,” said Gregg Lowe, TI senior vice president and leader of the company’s analog business unit. To address this need, the company established an analog university program more than a decade ago. Lowe continued, “TI’s analog university program, and now with addition of the Engibous Prize, is our way to contribute toward the training of thousands of analog engineers, positively impacting TI’s future customers and employees.”

The Engibous Prize will be presented in North America in 2008 and the program will be expanded to other regions of the world in 2009. Winners will be selected from participants in TI’s Analog Design Contest.

Engibous chose to join TI because the company afforded him the opportunity to design analog chips right out of college. He remembers designing his first analog chip that drove electronic displays on gas pumps. After completing the design and receiving the sample chip, he stayed in the lab testing the device night and day, without sleep. “The moment I confirmed that the chip actually worked was one of the most thrilling of my early career,” Engibous said.

As part of their senior design coursework, many electrical engineering students complete an end-equipment design. This contest enables students to receive free TI analog product samples and evaluation modules for their senior design project. The prize provides additional motivation to demonstrate the highest level of engineering analysis, originality, quality and creativity in designs using a variety of TI analog integrated circuits.

Engibous Prize eligibility is limited to winning teams at select universities currently participating in TI’s Analog Design Contest. The winning teams from such select universities will be automatically entered for Engibous Prize consideration starting May 31, 2008.