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Female Up & Comer Nominees

The Female Up and Comer Award recognizes and profiles the next generation of young women in the semiconductor industry. Companies are encouraged to identify women with a technical background and education within their organization who have been in the industry five years or less and have made exceptional contributions toward the development, innovation, growth and success in her short time in the industry. Nominations will be reviewed by an all-female committee that will select the top three candidates for recognition at the GSA WLI WISH Conference. There, a winning recipient will be announced and presented with the Female Up and Comer Award.

2025 WINNER

Yangfang Le

Principal Network Architect

AMD

Yanfang Le, Ph.D. (UW–Madison, 2020), is a Principal Network Architect at AMD with broad interests in networking and systems, focusing on distributed systems, programmable hardware, RDMA network transport, and in-network computation. She is a key contributor to industry-wide Ultra Ethernet Consortium (UEC), where she has been instrumental in architecting innovative solutions for AI networking transport—focusing on congestion management, multipath load balancing, and packet loss recovery. She also chairs the Performance and Debug Working Group and leads efforts in analyzing the performance of AI data centers. Co-inventor of Back-to-Sender and Source Flow Control, she has 10+ papers, 10+ patents, multiple Best Paper Awards, and serves on top conference committees.

Nominee

Prathiksha Dhanpal

Package and System Interconnect Engineer

Ampere Computing

Prathiksha is a Package and Systems Interconnect Engineer at Ampere Computing, specializing in advanced socket interconnect development, package construction evaluation, and hardware designs that power next-generation high-performance computing systems. Her expertise spans mechanical design and analysis, material selection, thermal solution assessments, and reliability optimization for delivering robust, scalable semiconductor packaging solutions that enhance performance. As an active contributor to her field, she has presented at major conferences, serves as a peer reviewer, volunteers with various organizations, and consistently uses her voice to elevate others and foster inclusion. She earned her Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University.

Nominee

Qinghua Zhao

Principal Technology Development Engineer

Sandisk

Qinghua Zhao is a Principal Technology Development Engineer at Sandisk. Her primary focus is on 3D NAND Flash CMOS development, an area in which she has already made significant contributions since joining Sandisk in 2023. Notably, Qinghua secured first place in the 2023 Sandisk Cost-a-thon competition and received the 2024 Sandisk Global Strategy & Technology Innovation of Significance Award. She currently has nine patent applications, with one granted during her stay at Sandisk. Several of her innovations have been incorporated into future Sandisk designs and products.

Before her role at Sandisk, Qinghua worked as a process engineer at Applied Materials for about 1.5 years, where she had six patents granted and three innovation rewards. She earned her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 2021, honored as one of nine inaugural VIEST Graduate Fellowship cohorts. She received a bachelor’s degree from Peking University in 2015.

Outside of her technical work, Qinghua is committed to giving back to the community and inspiring positive change. She is an active volunteer in CASPA (Chinese American Semiconductor Professional Association) symposiums and professional development events. Qinghua also served as President of the Philadelphia PKU Alumni Association for two years, where she hosted networking and charity events. During graduate school, she mentored K–9 girls in science and engineering summer camps for three years, driven by her passion for inspiring the next generation of female scientists and engineers.

2024 WINNER

Kamala Raghavan Sadagopan

Senior Engineer

Qualcomm Technologies

Kamala is a radio-frequency IC designer at Qualcomm. As a senior engineer, she conducts research and develops innovative circuit techniques and architectures for 5G, automotive, and IoT applications. Her work includes the design, simulation, layout, verification, and characterization of high-performance synthesizers and low-power transceivers.

Before joining Qualcomm in 2021, Kamala earned her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Oregon State University, where her research on wireless energy harvesters received international recognition.

In addition to her technical work, Kamala is an active volunteer with IEEE Women in Circuits and Young Professionals, where she has co-organized several technical and professional development events aimed at fostering diversity and empowering the next generation of engineers.

Nominee

Nazanin Takbiri

Principal Security Silicon Architect

Microsoft

Nazanin Takbiri earned her PhD degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 2019. After completing her degree, she joined Qualcomm as a Security Researcher, focusing on identifying and mitigating security vulnerabilities in emerging technologies. In 2021, she transitioned to Microsoft, where she now serves as a Principal SoC Security Architect, focusing in root of trust and key platform management. Her work centers on applied cryptography, post-quantum cryptography, and embedded systems security, aiming to develop robust countermeasures against both passive and active physical attacks.

Nazanin believes that everyone can leverage their strengths and approach new challenges with an open mind. She encourages young engineers and students to pursue their ambitions with determination and prioritize personal growth within the STEM industry.

Nominee

Jiao Yi

Senior Engineer PEE CVD/PVD

Micron

As a senior process and equipment engineer at Micron, Jiao Yi establishes novel yet effective solutions for 3D NAND devices. She holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the National University of Singapore. She is passionate about empowering women and young people in engineering, which is demonstrated through her volunteer efforts with the Society of Women Engineers and Micron’s Chip Camps. She also tutors students in science-based subjects. Outside of work, Jiao plays both the piano and the Gu Zheng, a traditional Chinese musical instrument. Her dedication to her profession and her enthusiasm for supporting the next generation of innovators reflect her passion for making a positive impact in her community and the industry at large.

Aradhana Kumari

2023 Winner

Aradhana Kumari

Technical Leader

STMicroelectronics

Aradhana is working as a Technical Leader in the Technology & Design Platform group at STMicroelectronics. She is a digital designer primarily responsible for the design of high-speed link controllers and digital calibration of time-interleaved ADCs. She is skilled in digital logic synthesis, place-route, and timing flows for high-speed and low-power designs that mandate high figure of merit. She has contributed to innovations in ST products which has resulted in multiple US patent filings and publications in major international conferences. Outside of work, she financially supports girls from her village for higher education and motivates them to dream big. Aradhana completed her Masters in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Patna, India.

Navya Sri Sreeram

2023 Nominee

Navya Sri Sreeram

DRAM Design Engineer

Micron Technology

Navya, a DRAM Design Engineer at Micron Technology, holds an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas. Upon joining Micron, she worked on their first production 16Gb chip, earning experience in DDR5 specs and circuitry. She excelled in designing High-Speed Logic for the second-gen 16Gb DDR5, leveraging innovative Half-Frequency clocking-topology for heightened operational frequencies. With ten patents and multiple technical publications, Navya is an innovator. She’s also a mentor, nurturing new talents. Presently, she focuses on logic optimization for DDR5 24Gb, including 3DS stacking design. Beyond engineering, Navya enjoys culinary arts, gardening, photography, and exploring national parks, with Zion being a favorite destination.

Seojin Choi

2023 Nominee

Seojin Choi

Sr. Engineer, Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit Design Group

Qualcomm

Seojin is a senior engineer in the Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuit Design Group at Qualcomm Technologies Inc. Her work focuses on the research and development of high-performance frequency synthesizers used in Qualcomm’s premium tier 4G/5G/mmW wireless transceivers for Cellular and Automotive applications.
Within this capacity, she is involved in proposing new circuit techniques, circuit design/simulation, layout, design/system verification, silicon characterization and validation. She received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees with Summa Cum Laude in Electrical Engineering from UNIST in Korea. Her research and expertise include ultra-low noise, low-power frequency synthesizer, and clock generation IC designs.

2022 Winner

Yi-Rou Liou

Technical Manager

TSMC

Yi-Rou Liou is a technical manager in the Product Device Engineering Division in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacture Company. In this role, she works with her team to boost the ring oscillator performance (RO%) to meet the roadmap committed to the customers and help them solve product issues in advanced technology 5nm/4nm/3nm. After successfully stepping up the production of N5 and N4, she led the team to increase the product’s performance by 10%, which laid a good foundation for N4P and N4X for faster and more compact solutions.

Yi-Rou believes that regardless of gender, everyone can give full play to their advantages and keep an open mind to new challenges that come in the way. She encourages young engineers and pupils to pursue their goals and strive for self-growth in the semiconductor industry. Yi-Rou earned a doctoral degree in Physics from National Taiwan University.

2022 Nominee

Brittney Nelson

Electrical Product Engineer

Cisco

Brittney Nelson graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Electrical Engineering, Minor in Math, and Certificate in Holistic Leadership in Engineering. She currently works at Cisco as an Electrical Product Engineer where she works at the intersection of Supply Chain, Engineering, and Manufacturing to ensure that Cisco’s Catalyst 9K Enterprise Switches’ PCBAs are built on time, cost efficient, and manufacturable starting from the prototype builds, mass production, and then to End of Life. Outside of work, she enjoys kayaking, reading, learning about new cultures, and mentoring young children to encourage them to pursue a STEM career.

2022 Nominee

Ritu Walia

Product Engineer

Siemens EDA

Ritu Walia is a Product Engineer in the Calibre Design Solutions division of Siemens EDA, a part of Siemens Digital Industries Software. Her primary focus is the development of Calibre integration and interface tools and technologies. She joined Siemens EDA with a goal of developing new solutions to solve challenging engineering problems. Previously, Ritu held positions as a QA/test engineer and Corporate Marketing Engineer for the Calibre nmPlatform toolsuite. She received a B.Tech. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Nagpur University, India, and an M.Sc. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, specializing in Advanced VLSI Design and MEMs, from the University of Massachusetts, USA.

2022 Nominee

Sarah Wang

Cloud Hardware Manufacturing Engineer

Microsoft Azure 

Sarah Wang graduated from the University of Michigan in May 2019 with a B.S.E. in mechanical engineering and minors in computer science and entrepreneurship and began her career at Microsoft later that year in July 2019. Sarah has worked as a cloud hardware manufacturing engineer for Microsoft Azure for the past three years. In her current role, Sarah manages manufacturing lines worldwide, performs server-level design reviews, and develops automation tools for Microsoft Azure hardware such as servers, fused power whips, and full rack integration solutions. Her job is to ensure only the highest quality hardware arrives on a reliable schedule to data centers worldwide.

2021 Winner

Lindsay Kostas

Staff Machine Learning Engineer

Qualcomm 

Lindsey is a Staff Machine Learning Engineer at Qualcomm. She joined a nascent ML R&D team at Qualcomm in 2018 and since that time she has led multiple projects in ML-based CAD/EDA which have impacted global SoC design process for teams across the globe leading to significant savings in time-to-market, compute and NRE cost. Prior to joining Qualcomm, Lindsey was a scholarship athlete for 4 years at Stanford University where she won two tennis national team championships and was honored as an Elite 89 Award Finalist. After graduating with distinction in Economics, she obtained her master’s degree in Computer Science with an emphasis in Artificial Intelligence from Stanford University.

Beyond designing and implementing state-of-the-art ML for the semiconductor industry, Lindsey is passionate about sharing her time and knowledge with others. Recognizing this commitment, Lindsey was one of six members of her graduating class identified as having a passion and ability for influencing positive change and was inducted to the Stanford Changemakers Society. She dedicates much of her free time to reviewing resumes, and helping mentor & develop junior engineers at Qualcomm.

2021 Nominee

Judith Suter

Senior Researcher

Microsoft Quantum Program

Judith Suter is a Senior Researcher in the Microsoft Quantum Program within Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure.

She began her scientific journey at the University of Basel, Switzerland where she pursued a degree in nanoscience. This is where she got hooked on quantum physics.

She joined Microsoft’s Quantum Hardware team in 2018. Initially, she focused on performing and optimizing electrical characterization of quantum devices. In 2020, she transitioned to the integration team, which drives holistic experiments on the physical implementation of topological devices in close collaboration with the teams developing innovative materials, fabrication processes, characterization techniques, and performing theoretical simulations.

Outside of her technical work, she got to represent Quantum Hardware on the Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure’s Diversity and Inclusion Council for the last year. There, she worked on exciting initiatives to widen the pipeline to reach and engage a diverse group of people and to promote a more intentionally inclusive work environment.

 

2021 Nominee

Xin Lan

Senior Process Integration Engineer

Micron Technology

Xin Lan received her bachelor’s degree with honors in materials science and engineering from Nanyang Technological University in 2016, and holds a master’s degree in management of technology from National University of Singapore. She is currently a senior process integration engineer at Micron Technology and focus on process integration, device development and product qualification in NAND technology.

Since joining Micron in 2016, Xin Lan has quickly demonstrated her technical capabilities and made significant contributions into 3D NAND development. During her relative short time in industry, she has received one Micron innovation award, one US patent granted, and another submission currently under review; one of her innovations has created a new frontier of NAND cell structure and been adopted in Micron’s leading-edge product.

Xin Lan is passionate about empowering women in engineering and technology. She volunteers as an advocator in Micron Women Leadership Network and is part of the Women Innovate Singapore pilot team aiming at boosting female technical development.

2021 Nominee

Yiling Zhang

Product Management of Automotive Micro-controllers

NXP Semiconductors

Yiling currently works in Product Management of Automotive Micro-controllers at NXP Semiconductors in Munich. Before her current role, she was a trainee in the Technical Marketing / Automotive Leadership Program and System Architect Engineer / Automotive Leadership Program at NXP Semiconductors, Munich.

Yiling received her Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (The Telecommunications and Sensing Systems Track) from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and a Bachelor of Science in Communication Engineering from the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) in China. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in English (second major) from the Harbin Institute of Technology.