So here’s another occasion with a similar scenario where a small kludge solution turns a complicated design into something really easy but it requires a separate perspective on the problem. This is from my work on the CPU debug team at Intel, circa 2007. Engineers in my group were trying to resolve a problem. We…
Tag: Newbies Can Contribute
First Week Impact
My approach to engineering craft has evolved to knowing when the easy solution exists and grabbing that instead of going with a complicated solution. Sometimes that’s a hack or sometimes it’s a different perspective. A newbie’s perspective can often provide that different perspective. Within my first week at Intel I surprisingly contributed immediately to my…
Technical Speak- From the Weak Write Test Mode Saga
“You have excellent PowerPoint skills.” Joe Schutz had requested two slides on Weak Write Test Mode to include in a presentation to his manager. On loan to Joe’s microprocessor design team I reported into him via Doug Guddat who managed the memory design group. Joe had asked me directly for the slides and I delivered….
I Need Her Feedback
Pete Magnani managed the technical training classes at IBM’s mid-Hudson Valley sites. He had created the test training class due to lack of teaching on this topic at college. The class lasted ten to twelve weeks, with each class session held for two hours. Each week we had a different IBM employee lecture about equipment,…
Playing with Motors
Computers can move things? Wow, this was going to be a fun summer! These thoughts crossed my mind as I began a summer job with the National Bureau of Standards in 1982. My introduction to computer languages came in high school when I took a class on BASIC. Mr. Chapman, a math teacher, had acquired…
Introduction to a Sexy Hard Problem: From the Weak Write Test Mode Saga
Signs the problem is very hard: Before you have worked on it you’re asked a vague question from an IBM engineer during a research review. The solution results in a 10X decrease. The solution can be applied to every single product with that circuitry at your company. Patents are filed. People who can’t make your…
Asking Questions of Experts
In the summer of 1984 I attended a seminar presented by Bob, a member of technical staff. I carefully listened and realized that my project would be changing some fundamental assumptions related to his talk. When the Q&A time arrived I asked this question– “If Grade of Service (GOS) is no longer a constant, i.e….
Angling with Ellipsometry
Expertise in a field could be viewed as much as a weakness as it is strength. You become so focused on the current problem at hand that you don’t question the fundamentals. To counter that thought– learning a new field gives weight to the adage “never assume.” In the case of Ellipsometry and Dean Chandler-Horowitz:…