Navigate Your Way to a Career in Semiconductors @ UCLA

Name: Navigate Your Way to a Career in Semiconductors @ UCLA
Start: 2024-09-30T15:45:00-07:00
End: 2024-09-30T19:30:00-07:00

September 30 3:45 PM - 7:30 PM PDT

Are you a student eager to explore diverse career paths and cutting-edge technologies? Join us for an enlightening event focused on the dynamic world of semiconductors!

This event offers a unique opportunity for students to delve into the fascinating world of semiconductors, welcoming all levels of interest, knowledge, and expertise. Discover how this industry intersects with various fields of study, explore potential career pathways, and network with industry professionals. Don’t miss out on this chance to unlock your potential and shape the future of technology!

Agenda

3:45 PM -4:00 PM
Event Registration
4:00 PM –5:00 PM
Opening Remarks & Keynote Speaker

Opening
Remarks

Dr. Audrey O'Neal

Associate Adjunct Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Director of Women in Engineering

UCLA

Dr. Audrey O'Neal

Audrey Pool O’Neal holds an Adjunct Associate Professor appointment in mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is also the director of the UCLA Women in Engineering program (WE@UCLA). In 2024, O’Neal received the Faculty Leadership Award from the Society of Women Engineers Los Angeles Region.
In 2021, she received the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Staff Award from the UCLA Academic Senate for demonstrating a commitment to the spirit of diversity, demonstrating leadership abilities through positive interaction between persons of different cultural backgrounds, and displaying behavior that illustrates a commitment to inclusion of persons within the institution who are members of traditionally underrepresented groups.
O’Neal received a Ph.D. and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA, an MS in Engineering Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from GMI Engineering and Management Institute, now Kettering University. Before coming to UCLA, she worked as an engineer and manager at General Motors Corporation in automatic transmission design and manufacturing.

Keynote
Speaker

Karen Donlan

Senior Director
Silicon Valley Sales

Siemens

Rozi Roufoogaran

Karen Donlan is the Senior Director of Silicon Valley Sales for Siemens EDA, leading a growing team responsible for delivering approximately 25% of Siemens EDA North America revenue. Karen joined Siemens EDA (then Mentor Graphics) in 2014 as an Account Director for several of their most strategic accounts and grew the largest enterprise accounts on the order of 30% per year. Prior to Siemens, Karen was with Cadence as a Senior Account Executive and an Account Manager at Synopsys after starting her career at Motorola Semiconductor. She graduated from the University of Florida with a BSEE.
Karen leverages her extensive industry knowledge and insight and adds a sense of urgency, accountability, and transparency to drive business success and continually grow her team and colleagues. Karen is a dedicated mentor—passionate about offering guidance, leadership, and support to other women as well as building the next generation of EDA talent. She was instrumental in starting the Women at Mentor Employee Resource Group and is now an active member of the Women’s Impact Network at Siemens.
Karen finds inspiration in working with early-career people, including her three daughters, and is committed to a journey of lifelong learning from the people surrounding her.
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Moderated
Panel

Moderator

Rozi Roufoogaran

Senior Director of RFIC Engineering

NXP

Rozi Roufoogaran

Rozi Roufoogaran is the Senior Director of RFIC Engineering at NXP, leading the Ultra-Wideband technology radio development. The products she has lead are shipping today in many of the tier 1 mobile handset companies and numerous IOT devices. Prior to NXP, she was the VP of Semiconductor Engineering at Ethertronics Inc, a startup acquired by AVX corporation in Jan 2018, where she lead the team responsible for their innovative line of active antenna products. Before Ethertronics, she held a number of senior management positions during her 17 years at Broadcom Ltd, responsible for the design and development of CMOS RF and analog circuits for varieties of wireless communication standards, including Bluetooth, Zigbee, WLAN, FM radio, and GPS. Rozi joined Broadcom in 2000 after Innovent Systems, the first company to develop single chip CMOS RF devices, was acquired by Broadcom.  The innovations she has pioneered are still part of numerous chips shipping in the billions of units at Broadcom.
Rozi received her M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from UCLA. She is the co-author of 15 journal and conference papers and is an inventor or co-inventor of over 22 patents.
Rozi volunteers as a leader of the programs and projects committee at GSA’s women’s initiatives. She is also involved with ECE alumnae advisory committee at UCLA.

Panelists

Anushree Saxena

Senior Manufacturing Engineer

TSMC

Anushree Saxena

Anushree is a Senior Manufacturing Engineer at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) Arizona, working to help the world’s largest advance chips manufacturer establish operations in the US. Her work currently focuses on production planning and system readiness for the cutting-edge 4nm production facility in Phoenix. Anushree also spent over a year in Taiwan, learning advanced semiconductor manufacturing practices and transferring this knowledge to the US. Anushree has found working across continents in a highly technical industry, with its many unique and complex challenges, to be an invaluable opportunity to learn and grow.

Her working at TSMC is no coincidence. Anushree has always been fascinated by how complex engineering structures — from giant space shuttles to tiny computer chips — are built. This passion inspired her to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from India, despite being only one of 11 women in a class of 880. She further expanded her knowledge in her Master’s program in Aerospace Engineering from Arizona State University. At ASU, Anushree was part of a lab researching Additive manufacturing of Metal alloys and defended her thesis on the additive manufacturing of Inconel 718 (a commonly used alloy in aircraft engines).

Outside of work, Anushree is an avid scuba diver (another thing she picked up in Taiwan) and loves spending time with animals.

Anna Smith

Vice President Sales

Teradyne

Anna Smith

Anna has been fortunate to work in the Semiconductor industry for over 25 years.  After graduating with a BS in Electrical Engineering from UCLA, Anna applied her engineering background to a business focus and subsequently, to leadership initiatives .  At the beginning of her career, she joined the Technical Sales Associate program in which BSEE graduates rotated through different marketing and sales support roles.  At the time, and still today, Anna found the semiconductor industry fast paced and exciting.
Anna accepted various sales and sales management roles with a focus to add value to customers and build strong teams.  In the last few years at Teradyne, she had the opportunity to lead a world-wide sales organization and traveled to meet with employees, customers, and partners.  The core role of semiconductor sales is to build the right technical solutions to solve customer’s needs.  Our customers count on us, and we work hard to earn their trust.
Recently, Anna transferred to a new position within Teradyne to lead Sales for Cloud, AI, and Automotive customers.  What she loves about her current role is that every day is different and there are always new challenges to solve.   Outside of her position as VP of Sales, Anna serves as a mentor in various organizations.  She been active in Teraydne’s Executive Mentorship Circle as well as the company’s flagship “Women in Teradyne” organization.  With two daughters studying engineering at the University of California, Anna also mentors’ students as they start their journey into technical careers. 
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Networking and Refreshments

Event Registration

Opening Remarks & Keynote Speaker

Opening
Remarks

Dr. Audrey O'Neal

Associate Adjunct Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Director of Women in Engineering

UCLA

Dr. Audrey O'Neal

Audrey Pool O’Neal holds an Adjunct Associate Professor appointment in mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is also the director of the UCLA Women in Engineering program (WE@UCLA). In 2024, O’Neal received the Faculty Leadership Award from the Society of Women Engineers Los Angeles Region.

In 2021, she received the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Staff Award from the UCLA Academic Senate for demonstrating a commitment to the spirit of diversity, demonstrating leadership abilities through positive interaction between persons of different cultural backgrounds, and displaying behavior that illustrates a commitment to inclusion of persons within the institution who are members of traditionally underrepresented groups.

O’Neal received a Ph.D. and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA, an MS in Engineering Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from GMI Engineering and Management Institute, now Kettering University. Before coming to UCLA, she worked as an engineer and manager at General Motors Corporation in automatic transmission design and manufacturing.

Keynote
Speaker

Karen Donlan

Senior Director
Silicon Valley Sales

Siemens

Rozi Roufoogaran

Karen Donlan is the Senior Director of Silicon Valley Sales for Siemens EDA, leading a growing team responsible for delivering approximately 25% of Siemens EDA North America revenue. Karen joined Siemens EDA (then Mentor Graphics) in 2014 as an Account Director for several of their most strategic accounts and grew the largest enterprise accounts on the order of 30% per year. Prior to Siemens, Karen was with Cadence as a Senior Account Executive and an Account Manager at Synopsys after starting her career at Motorola Semiconductor. She graduated from the University of Florida with a BSEE.

Karen leverages her extensive industry knowledge and insight and adds a sense of urgency, accountability, and transparency to drive business success and continually grow her team and colleagues. Karen is a dedicated mentor—passionate about offering guidance, leadership, and support to other women as well as building the next generation of EDA talent. She was instrumental in starting the Women at Mentor Employee Resource Group and is now an active member of the Women’s Impact Network at Siemens.

Karen finds inspiration in working with early-career people, including her three daughters, and is committed to a journey of lifelong learning from the people surrounding her.

Moderated
Panel

Moderator

Rozi Roufoogaran

Senior Director of RFIC Engineering

NXP

Rozi Roufoogaran

Rozi Roufoogaran is the Senior Director of RFIC Engineering at NXP, leading the Ultra-Wideband technology radio development. The products she has lead are shipping today in many of the tier 1 mobile handset companies and numerous IOT devices. Prior to NXP, she was the VP of Semiconductor Engineering at Ethertronics Inc, a startup acquired by AVX corporation in Jan 2018, where she lead the team responsible for their innovative line of active antenna products. Before Ethertronics, she held a number of senior management positions during her 17 years at Broadcom Ltd, responsible for the design and development of CMOS RF and analog circuits for varieties of wireless communication standards, including Bluetooth, Zigbee, WLAN, FM radio, and GPS. Rozi joined Broadcom in 2000 after Innovent Systems, the first company to develop single chip CMOS RF devices, was acquired by Broadcom.  The innovations she has pioneered are still part of numerous chips shipping in the billions of units at Broadcom.

Rozi received her M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from UCLA. She is the co-author of 15 journal and conference papers and is an inventor or co-inventor of over 22 patents.

Rozi volunteers as a leader of the programs and projects committee at GSA’s women’s initiatives. She is also involved with ECE alumnae advisory committee at UCLA.

Panelists

Anushree Saxena

Senior Manufacturing Engineer

TSMC

Anushree Saxena

Anushree is a Senior Manufacturing Engineer at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) Arizona, working to help the world’s largest advance chips manufacturer establish operations in the US. Her work currently focuses on production planning and system readiness for the cutting-edge 4nm production facility in Phoenix. Anushree also spent over a year in Taiwan, learning advanced semiconductor manufacturing practices and transferring this knowledge to the US. Anushree has found working across continents in a highly technical industry, with its many unique and complex challenges, to be an invaluable opportunity to learn and grow.

Her working at TSMC is no coincidence. Anushree has always been fascinated by how complex engineering structures — from giant space shuttles to tiny computer chips — are built. This passion inspired her to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from India, despite being only one of 11 women in a class of 880. She further expanded her knowledge in her Master’s program in Aerospace Engineering from Arizona State University. At ASU, Anushree was part of a lab researching Additive manufacturing of Metal alloys and defended her thesis on the additive manufacturing of Inconel 718 (a commonly used alloy in aircraft engines).

Outside of work, Anushree is an avid scuba diver (another thing she picked up in Taiwan) and loves spending time with animals.

Anna Smith

Vice President Sales

Teradyne

Anna Smith

Anna has been fortunate to work in the Semiconductor industry for over 25 years.  After graduating with a BS in Electrical Engineering from UCLA, Anna applied her engineering background to a business focus and subsequently, to leadership initiatives .  At the beginning of her career, she joined the Technical Sales Associate program in which BSEE graduates rotated through different marketing and sales support roles.  At the time, and still today, Anna found the semiconductor industry fast paced and exciting.

Anna accepted various sales and sales management roles with a focus to add value to customers and build strong teams.  In the last few years at Teradyne, she had the opportunity to lead a world-wide sales organization and traveled to meet with employees, customers, and partners.  The core role of semiconductor sales is to build the right technical solutions to solve customer’s needs.  Our customers count on us, and we work hard to earn their trust.

Recently, Anna transferred to a new position within Teradyne to lead Sales for Cloud, AI, and Automotive customers.  What she loves about her current role is that every day is different and there are always new challenges to solve.   Outside of her position as VP of Sales, Anna serves as a mentor in various organizations.  She been active in Teraydne’s Executive Mentorship Circle as well as the company’s flagship “Women in Teradyne” organization.  With two daughters studying engineering at the University of California, Anna also mentors’ students as they start their journey into technical careers. 

Networking and Refreshments

Welcome & Keynote Speaker

How chips are changing the world

Cristina Borelli

Advisor

Silicon Catalyst

Maria Cristina

Cristina Borelli, Electronic Engineer from Politecnico of Milan, has 30 years of experience in Electronic Design Automation/ Semiconductor and 10 years of experience in Software/Information Technology, with a good understanding of the European Electronic market and ecosystem. She is committed to help new generations of innovators in the development of their ambitions in STEM. In this context, she is currently advisor for Silicon Catalyst and Berkeley Skydeck Europe, supporting the review process and mentoring of startups.

Panel Discussion

Why picking up semiconductor and EDA?

Anna
Fontanelli

Senior Staff Engineer Manager

Marvell Compute and Custom Solutions

Founder
& CEO

Monozukuri

Anna Fontanelli

Anna has more than 25 years of expertise in managing complex R&D organizations and programs, giving birth to a number of innovative Electronic Design Automation (EDA) technologies. She has pioneered the study and development of several generations of IC and package co-design environments and has held senior positions at leading semiconductor and EDA company including STMicroelectronics and Mentor Graphics.

Laura
Aschei

Senior Staff Engineer Manager

Marvell Compute and Custom Solutions

Sr. Design
Engineer

Synopsis

Laura Aschei

Laura Aschei, born in Pavia in 1994 and graduated in 2018 in electronic engineering with specialization in Microelectronics at the University of Pavia. Laura obtained a doctorate in Microelectronics at the Microlab laboratory of professors Rinaldo Castello and Danilo Manstretta. The doctoral degree was obtained in 2021 and a year of postdoc was also completed at the same laboratory. In the year 2023, Laura was hired at Synopsys Italia and currently covers the position of Sr. Design Engineer for A&MS Circuits.

Simona
Cometti

Lead
Application Engineer

Cadence

Simona Cometti

Simona Cometti is a Lead Application Engineer at Cadence Design System, a primary Electronic Design Automation provider for electronic design. Previously, Simona was a postdoctoral researcher in an EU-funded project on applied and medical physics. She graduated in physics in Torino and then got her Ph.D. in “Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering”.

Valentina Marazzi

Phd
Student

Università di Pavia

Valentina Marazzi

Valentina Marazzi was born in Voghera, Italy, in 1999. She received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electronics engineering from University of Pavia, Italy, in 2020 and 2022, respectively. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in microelectronics from University of Pavia in collaboration with Marvell. Her current research interests include design and modeling techniques of analog components for millimeter-wave and RF applications on CMOS micro and nanotechnologies.