Motivational Speaker - John Foley ( Former Blue Angel)

Our company today hosted a renowned motivational speaker Mr. John Foley of Blue Angels fame. The title of the talk being "Learn High Performance from a Fighter Pilot", he talked about High Performance and how The Blue Angels way of management, precision, trust and team work can help companies build high performance teams. His energy was profound and kept the audience captivated by the visuals from the FA-18 Hornet's cockpit, the briefing sessions before the Airshows, his experiences at the Moscow Airshow in 1992 (as goodwill ambassadors) and the debriefing sessions where they reflect on the days happenings (mistakes, errors and things of cheer and success).

John discussed the critical thinking and processes required to achieve high performance in an environment requiring high precision, just like our semiconductor industry. With merely half a meter between planes in formation – a space that is narrower than your head to your feet when sitting – John knows the importance of performance. As one of only six people in the world at one time to be a demo pilot, John is familiar with behaviors of the top one-tenth of one percent of the performance pyramid.

The Blue Angels program has fifty percent turnover in its top echelon, which is a planned rotation of demo pilots. To support excellence, the group requires consistent processes and procedures. A new member of the Blue Angels undertakes intense training in becoming a fully trained demo pilot as the program sustains 300% improvement in three months. John asserts that elevating your belief level in turn elevates performance.

The first level of belief includes vision and clarity. Is the vision liberating or limiting? Limiting is from without. Liberating is from within.

Secondly, when a new entrant comes to the program they have six weeks to watch, learn and absorb the culture. They are exposed to a liberating vision, and their belief level increases.

Thirdly, in the increasing levels of belief, a team establishes trust, execution, and commitment. The key to execution is trust. There is a contract between members – an agreement with consequences. This contract is not written or formal, but rather verbal between team members. If the wingman is off, he must say he is off. He does not try to correct on his own or hide it. If he is on target, there is no need to say anything. He trusts that his wingman has it.

Finally, the last level includes assessment, discipline, and accountability. During debriefing, rank and experience are put aside. Each team member critiques his own performance and commits to correcting mistakes. High performers celebrate victories as well.

Has your company ever hosted such motivational speakers? How was the mood after the end of the session? Were you able to achieve anything out of such talks? Looking forward to your comments/responses.

Job openings @ Infineon Technologies India Pvt Ltd

Infineon Technologies India Pvt Ltd has some openings for full time and contract positions. If you are interested in applying for these positions, please email us directly with the title of the job description as the subject for faster processing. Please don't email us to inquire about the status. If you are shortlisted, you will be contacted by the company or the hiring manager directly. Please click on the title for more info.

Full Time Position
[#1] Job Description For mixed signal simulation
Experience: 5 to 9 years in mixed signal functional verification
Education : B. Tech in Electronics or Computer Science
Areas of Responsibility: 
1) Evaluation and integration of latest tool version into functional verification sub flow with very close link to functional verification and AMS sub flow team
2) Applications and Support of tools for Mixed Signal Functional Verification
3) Definition and implementation of mixed signal simulation methodology
4) Contacts to EDA vendors to synchronize their development with IFX specific
requirements and follow-up open issues

Skills/Requirement:
Preferred with Tools AdvancedMS or AMS Designer.
Basic knowledge in analog circuit design and analog simulation.
Solid experiences in programming skills (Skill, Perl, shell scripts).
Solid experience in VHDL (VHDL-AMS) Experiences in customer support of European customers Team player

Consultant Requirements :
[#1] Job Descriptions For Timing abstraction
Experience: 4 to 5 years
Education : B. Tech in Electronics or Computer Science
Operating Systems : Linux, Solaris, Windows
Programming : Proficient in C++ or Perl Object Oriented Programming and Shell scripting
Domain Knowledge:
Advanced knowledge of Timing at transistor level
Have been responsible for generating timing models at least using spice simulators
Should have a working background in CAD flow development for at least 3 years
Wish List:
Past experience in custom macros or standard cells.
Understanding of Spice Netlist, Bsim Models.
Knowledge of Nanotime : Added advantage.
Experience in transisitor level design.
Job Responsibility:- Responsible for
Leading the Timing modelling topics for full custom macros
Co-ordinating with the technical interface across the continents
Design Services, related to timing modelling for various macros
Development, support and maintenance of script in Perl for Timing Modelling and analysis for Full Custom Macros.
Project planning, customer interfacing, methodology development
Guiding, mentoring other team members for accomplishment of the project
Following all processes, QA, Reporting
Documentations, user manual, test plan generation, testing and training documentation

[#2] Job Descriptions For Timing abstraction
Experience: 1 to 4 years
Education : B. Tech in Electronics or Computer Science
Operating Systems : Linux, Solaris, Windows
Programming : Proficient in C++ or Perl Object Oriented Programming and Shell scripting
Domain Knowledge: Basics of Timing Setup and Hold.
Wish List:
Past experience in custom macros or standard cells is beneficial.
Understanding of Spice Netlist, Bsim Models.
Knowledge of Nanotime : Added advantage.
Experience in transisitor level design.
Job Responsibility: Responsible for development of script in Perl for Timing Modelling and analysis for Full Custom Macros.
Support and Maintain all scripts which are required for timing abstraction and Liberty file handling
Responsible to following all processes
Documentations, user manual, test plan generation, testing and training documentation

[#3] Job Descriptions For Macroprep
Experience: 1 to 4 years
Education : B. Tech in Electronics or Computer Science
Operating Systems : Linux, Solaris, Windows
Programming : Proficient in C++ or Perl Object Oriented Programming and Shell scripting
Domain Knowledge: Basic knowledge of Spice, VHDL, Verilog, GDS, Synopsys Liberty, LEF views Macro preparation and IP reuse.
Job Responsibility: Responsible for development of script in Perl for Object Oriented Interface to database built by the parsers of the above specified views
Responsible for unit testing and system testing for the components developed
Responsible for all relevant documentations

[#4] Job Description for Functional Verification flow
Experience: 1 to 4 years
Education : B. Tech in Electronics or Computer Science
Operating Systems : Linux, Solaris, Windows
Programming : Proficient in Perl Programming and Shell scripting
Requirement: Proficient in functional verification tools: simulation, debug, formal(property check), mixed signal simulation, specman (Mentor tools preferred).
Knowledge of HDL and verification language/methodology such as e or SV/OVM
Should have a working background in CAD flow development.
Job Responsibility:- Responsible for Development, support and maintenance of script in Perl for functional verification flow. Responsible for unit testing and system testing for the components developed Pilot testing and deployment of functional verification flow on customer projects. Customer interfacing, methodology development.
Following all processes, QA, Reporting
Documentations, user manual, test plan generation, testing and training documentation

[#5] Job Description for Skill programming
Experience: 3+ years in skill programming
Education : B. Tech in Electronics or Computer Science
Operating Systems : Linux, Solaris, Windows
Programming : Proficient in skill Programming and scripting
Requirement: Experience in skill programming for GUI application integrated in Cadence design framework and database access functionality. Solid experience in analog design methodology for circuit and physical design, required for validation, verification & understanding the requirements.

Femtocell-enabled home energy management solution

ip.access, the leading developer of femtocell and picocell solutions, and AlertMe.com, the pioneer in home energy management systems, have created a demonstration showing how femtocells can be integrated into smart home energy management solutions. 

With femtocell integration, the AlertMe Energy service can automatically detect when phones enter or leave the house and can therefore power down lights, televisions and other home appliances automatically when the house is empty. The service can also switch the services back on again when the residents return.

The ip.access femtocell powered service also enables mobile phones to control electrical devices in different parts of the house using a series of commands and automatic triggers.

Smart energy metering and control is the subject of extensive EU regulation over the coming years, and services such as AlertMe Energy, which allows electrical appliances in the home to be controlled via the Internet, are set to become a part of everyone's lives in the near future.

ip.access has combined the AlertMe Energy service with its own femtocell technology. The solution works by allowing electrical appliances to switch on and off automatically in response to the presence or absence of phones in the home. The "presence" information is routinely gathered by the femtocell but is normally only used to route cellphone traffic and set tariffs.

The AlertMe integration enables this presence information to be used to set personalised light and power preferences which are activated automatically vhen a subscriber arrives at home. Pre-set electrical outlets can also switch off automatically to save energy a few minutes after the last person has left the house.

The demo also shows how supplementary services codes on the phone can be personalised through the femtocell when the phone is at home, allowing the phone to be used to switch appliances on and off remotely. For example, a subscriber could type *1# on their phone to switch off the downstairs lights and power after retiring upstairs to bed.

"One automatic trigger could be to switch the kettle on as soon as you arrive home," said Dr Andy Tiller, VP Marketing at ip.access. "But there is a lot more to this than just tea and convenience.

"Using a femtocell to personalise supplementary services codes is a new and unique idea," he said. "It enables the mobile phone to become a powerful controller for all kinds of applications in the home. And because it's a network-enabled feature, it works with any handset – there are no applications to install."

According to AlertMe.com founder Pilgrim Beart, "The mobile phone is increasingly the remote-control for your life. Most people carry their handset everywhere they go, making it an ideal control device for the AlertMe Energy service. And because everyone already has a mobile phone, there is no extra cost involved."

The demo also shows how the AlertMe Hub (the central device that receives instructions via the Internet and controls the electrical plugs in the home) can be integrated inside a femtocell Access Point, receiving its power and Internet connection through the femtocell. In this way, a mobile operator could offer a smart home energy management solution as an integrated option to its femtocell subscribers.

ip.access will be showing the demonstration at the Femtocells World Summit in London from 22-24 June.

High-speed and low-power electronic circuits on carbon material

Using a heated atomic force microscope tip, researchers have drawn nanoscale conductive patterns on insulating graphene oxide. This simple trick to control graphene oxide's conductivity could pave the way for etching electronic circuits into the carbon material, an important advance toward high-speed, low-power, and potentially cheaper electronics. For more info please hear this podcast from MIT.

High-Level Synthesis Blue Book

The High Level Synthesis Blue Book is a comprehensive guide for designing hardware using C++. It is targeted to RTL designers that are currently using, moving, or planning to move, to an HLS design environment. Check the blog post by Thomas Bollaert and More here. The High-Level Synthesis Bluebook is available online by clicking here. Author Michael Fingeroff will also be hosting a free webinar on June 23rd where he will be presenting the book.