Agilent Researcher and UC Berkeley Professor discuss the mutual benefits of their industry-university relationship

	Ali Niknejad, Associate Professor at UC Berkeley's EECS department and Faculty Director of the BWRC

One of Agilent's mandates is to take an active role in supporting higher education and research by building solid, mutually beneficial relationships with colleges and universities around the world in areas of common interest. Agilent's University Relations programs include research grants, mentorships, and philanthropic equipment grants, among other activities.

In this article we discuss the company's relationship with the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley) with Agilent Researcher Joel Dunsmore and Ali Niknejad, Associate Professor at UC Berkeley's Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) department and Faculty Director of the Berkeley Wireless Research Center (BWRC).

Q: What common interest sparked the relationship between U.C. Berkeley and Agilent?
Dunsmore: There are several common interests that ensure a mutually beneficial relationship between UC Berkeley and Agilent. UC Berkeley and the BWRC are leaders in the field of microelectronic circuits for wireless communication. Its mission includes the design and development of mixed-signal and radio frequency (RF) integrated circuits as well as new microwave measurement techniques for devices and circuits. This relationship has offered me insights into the use of our products in academia and the greater industry while offering the students an industry perspective they wouldn't receive otherwise.

	Joel Dunsmore, Agilent Researcher

In addition, as a Fortune 500 company, Agilent can offer employment to student graduates. In fact, more than 100 U.C. Berkeley alumni work at Agilent right now. As a member of the UC Berkeley recruiting team, I meet a lot of students who would be quite good for Agilent. Students are full of new ideas and fresh thinking. Some of our summer interns, for example, have developed some intriguing product ideas.

Q: What, specifically, is the nature of the relationship between U.C. Berkeley and Agilent?
Dunsmore: In addition to general industry alignment and reciprocal recruiting benefits, the nature of this relationship revolves around research access, education and equipment grants. Agilent is an industry member of the BWRC, which provides the company access to faculty and graduate students involved in the large interdisciplinary research efforts of the BWRC. Our relationship with the BWRC goes way back to when Agilent was a part of Hewlett-Packard.

In 2006, I became a mentor at UC Berkeley for the Agilent University Relations research program with the BWRC. As a mentor, I became familiar with the BWRC and got to know the students and faculty, including Professor Niknejad who is the faculty director of the center. This relationship has offered me insights into the use of our products in academia and the greater industry while, hopefully, offering the students an industry perspective they wouldn't receive otherwise.

Niknejad: From the university's perspective, Agilent's donation of test and measurement equipment in May 2007 enabled us to develop a world-class laboratory course for the EECS 142 Integrated Circuits for Communications class. The class covers in-depth theory of non-linear and time-varying circuits, the fundamental concepts in communication circuits, using mathematical tools and techniques. The laboratory gives students a chance to actually see the theory working in real practical circuits. Joel's vision and insights were instrumental in developing and teaching the lab portion of the class.

As a mentor, Joel has been indispensable. Many students spend hours with him doing hands-on experiments to learn how to properly measure and de-embed high-frequency components. Joel has also spent a lot of time with the graduate student instructors, teaching them 'the ropes' of high-frequency design and measurement.

Q: What can an "industry perspective" add to undergrad and graduate education in engineering?
Niknejad: Many times Joel emphasized that the problems we solved in class were directly related to real world issues faced by engineers in industry. This reinforces the importance of the theoretical side of the education. Students realize that they aren't solving math problems but real engineering problems.

In addition, most of our integrated circuits courses involve a design component, requiring students to design fairly complex circuit building blocks starting from specifications. We usually choose applications that are relevant to industry. In these cases industry partners can provide valuable input.

Q: What do you see as the overall benefits to Agilent and UC Berkeley based on this relationship?
Dunsmore: I found that interacting with students forced me to recalibrate how I thought about Agilent products that I know so well. The faculty and researchers are on the cutting edge of the technology and provide us with challenges on measurement problems, and we, as the measurement experts, can provide them with cutting edge solutions to these problems. For students - even students as capable as those at Berkeley - it's important to keep the design of our instruments simple. I had to go back to the basics of how different instruments work and what they do and this helps us think about how to improve the user interface.

Niknejad: Joel's role has been critical in many respects. He was instrumental in designing and debugging the labs and during lectures he was able to share his insights gathered from years of experience. The lab portion of the class helps reinforce the class concepts and prepare them better for real-life applications. Joel's enthusiasm for the subject also rubs off on students. He's so excited about the field of RF and microwave. Students enjoy learning from a motivated person.