Next Talk: 05/May/2025, 4:30-5:30pm CET

Link: https://eu02web.zoom-x.de/j/66719911736?pwd=N5n96kFJbauLi2u79eJI0ZD15hgNsi.1
4:30pm Central European time is (usually) 7:30am Pacific time and 11:30pm Beijing time

Analog Open IC Design for Neuro-Memristive Designs Demystified

Dr. Alex James; Digital University Kerala, Veiloor, India

Abstract

In this talk, the key design principles and challenges in developing neuro-memristive circuits are discussed using a variety of publicly available tools. The importance of using open-source tools for demonstration IC design is emphasized, highlighting the benefits of open innovation and the development of analog IPs. Additionally, practical examples and case studies are presented to illustrate the application using open PDKs that can lead to chip tapeouts. The lecture also presents a variety of generative AI tools and optimization techniques that can be used to accelerate such open IP development.

Biography

Alex James is the Dean External Linkages and Projects, and Full-professor of AI hardware at Digital University Kerala; and CTO of India Graphene and Engineering Innovation Centre (a section 8 company). James received his PhD from Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Australia. He heads the Maker Village, one of the largest electronic hardware incubators in India with over 80 electronics startups. He heads the Centre for excellence in Intelligent IoT Sensors, and India Innovation Centre for Graphene. He is the founding director board member of India’s first Digital Science Park. He has spun out multiple startup companies from his research group; published more than 200 papers. For the last two decades, he worked in the areas of board design, signal integrity and mixed signal design in Industry and in the area of AI hardware and systems in academia. He has taught more than 60 courses, in the areas of chip design and AI. He was an associate editor for IEEE TCAS1 (2018-2023), and IEEE OJCAS (2023). He got the IEEE Kerala Section Best Researcher Award (2022), IEEE CASS Best Associate Editor for IEEE TCAS1 (2020-2021), Kerala State Higher Education Council Award 2022 - Kairali Gaveshana Puraskaram from the Kerala government, and 2024 IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems Guillemin-Cauer Best Paper Award. First chair of IEEE CASS Kerala, which won the 2023 IEEE Circuits and Systems Regional Chapter-of-the-Year Award: Region 10 and 2024 IEEE Circuits and Systems Global Chapter-of-the-Year Award. He is a member of SIG AgriFood and IEEE CASS Technical Committees on Neural Systems and Applications (NSA TC), Nonlinear Circuits and Systems Technical Committee (NCAS TC), Cellular Nanoscale Networks, and Memristor Array Computing (CNNMAC TC). He is Associate Editor in Chief of IEEE Open Journal of Circuits and Systems (2024-2025) and Associate Editor of IEEE Access, Frontiers in Neuroscience, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems and IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Artificial Intelligence. He is an IET, BCS, and HEA Senior Fellow.