Texas Instruments Incorporated introduced TI Silicon Valley Labs, its research center for innovation in analog and mixed signal electronics. The labs' charter is to conduct advanced research and development in analog and mixed signal circuits and technologies through recruitment of top talent and close collaboration with universities and customers.
Advanced research projects ranging from analog signal processing for ultra-low power pattern recognition to re-architecting power management for future cloud servers are under development in the labs.
"Many of today's toughest challenges, from efficiently powering cloud computing to making quality medical care more affordable and portable, can be addressed with inventive analog semiconductors, and TI has the analog manufacturing, design and research resources to make this possible," said Gregg Lowe, TI senior vice president of Analog. "TI Silicon Valley Labs will tap into and invest in the Silicon Valley ecosystem of innovation, to tackle challenges like these with our customers and grow our business worldwide."
The company also announced it is working with Stanford University, the University of California Berkeley, and other area universities to further strengthen key engineering undergraduate programs. The university collaboration will also provide opportunities for graduate-level research on-site at TI's recently-acquired 70-acre facility in Santa Clara, CA. The company is also doubling its internship opportunities for top engineering undergraduate students as well as training programs at TI in Silicon Valley for top new college graduates.
"Breakthrough innovation in the modern competitive landscape demands multidisciplinary research in collaboration with universities and other research centers," said Dr. Ahmad Bahai, TI Analog chief technology officer. "Our labs are built on relationships and investment in the entire innovation value network - from undergraduate internships to advanced analog semiconductor research with consulting professors and customers' research teams - to further R&D advances in our industry."
An event to mark the unveiling was held Tuesday at TI in Santa Clara. The agenda included keynotes by Prof. Mark Horowitz of Stanford University and Prof. Costas Spanos of University of California Berkeley, as well as executives from TI. A panel discussion on fostering the Silicon Valley innovation ecosystem included representatives from Electric Power Research Institute, Stanford University, University of California Berkeley and Santa Fe Institute, as well as Silicon Valley stalwarts HP Labs, Cisco Systems and PARC, a Xerox company.
