Empowering the next Wave of Silicon Engineers

Developing custom chips for specific applications enables fundamentally better products. As part of a full-stack optimization approach to product design, application-specific systems-on-chips (SoCs) have been one of the keys to delivering game-changing performance, power efficiency, capabilities, and user experiences. This plenary provides examples of how custom silicon enables innovative product breakthroughs and how techniques like design modularity help manage the SoC scaling challenge. As applications, such as artificial intelligence (AI), transform both silicon demand and design methodologies, we need to reimagine how we motivate and educate the next generation of silicon engineers to address these challenges. We will share our experiences in interactions between industry, universities, and students, showing how industry engagement can re-energize these programs. The future of custom silicon depends on all of us investing in the next wave of engineers who will create tomorrow's innovative products.