<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/engineer-testing-electronic-components-at-a-lab-bench-with-cables-and-equipment.png?id=66821207&amp;width=1245&amp;height=700&amp;coordinates=0%2C97%2C0%2C97" /><br /><br /><p>I have been an application-specific IC (ASIC) designer for almost three decades. Over that time, I’ve moved through the full academic trajectory, from graduate student to full professor; later, I transitioned to industry after an unsuccessful stint at entrepreneurship. When