{"693242":{"#nid":"693242","#data":{"type":"event","title":"Career Path Lecture in the Semiconductor Industry | Tapeout: A Hidden Career Path in Semiconductor Engineering That Turns Chip Designs into Reality","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETitle: \u003C\/strong\u003ETapeout: A Hidden Career Path in Semiconductor Engineering That Turns Chip Designs into Reality\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESpeaker:\u003C\/strong\u003E Larry Melvin, Senior Director, Product Management Group at Synopsys\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDate: \u003C\/strong\u003ETuesday, October 20, 2026\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETime: \u003C\/strong\u003E3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELocation:\u003C\/strong\u003E Exhibition Hall, Kirkwood Room (273)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEvery smartphone, laptop, gaming console, and AI accelerator begins as a digital chip design. Yet one of the most important\u003Cbr\u003Esteps in bringing that design to life remains largely invisible to most engineers and consumers. At Synopsys, engineers develop the software, algorithms, models, and simulation tools that enable both the design and manufacturing of advanced semiconductor devices. This work spans computer science, electrical engineering, physics, mathematics, high-performance computing, and advanced manufacturing, creating exciting career opportunities for students interested in solving some of the world\u2019s most challenging technical problems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA critical stage in a chip\u2019s journey from concept to product is tapeout, the process between design and manufacturing. During tapeout, engineers transform a completed integrated circuit design into a set of photomasks used to print billions of transistor features onto silicon wafers. Because these features are now measured in nanometers, manufacturing introduces complex optical and physical effects that can distort the intended circuit patterns. To overcome these challenges, engineers use advanced computational lithography techniques to analyze, modify, and optimize mask patterns so the manufactured chip matches the original design intent.\u003Cbr\u003EThis presentation will explore the fascinating technologies behind leading-edge photomask development, including pattern correction, verification, mask writing, and inspection. Attendees will learn how sophisticated software, physics-based modeling, and advanced manufacturing technologies work together to make modern semiconductor devices possible. Along the way, real-world engineering challenges that require expertise across multiple disciplines will be examined and demonstrate how innovation in computational engineering continues to drive the semiconductor industry forward.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy the end of this session, students will have a behind-the-scenes view of how a digital chip design becomes a manufacturable product and discover a hidden but highly impactful career\u003Cbr\u003Epath at the intersection of software, physics, chip design, and semiconductor manufacturing. Whether your interests lie in computer science, electrical engineering, data science, or applied physics, tapeout engineering offers a unique opportunity to\u003Cbr\u003Ehelp create the technologies that power the modern world. Manufacturing and chip design careers will also be discussed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBio:\u003C\/strong\u003E Larry Melvin is a Senior Director in the Product Management Group at Synopsys, where he leads development of software and models used in semiconductor manufacturing. His work focuses on predicting how microchips will be fabricated and ensuring that chip designs can be manufactured accurately and efficiently.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThroughout his career, he has worked on a variety of advanced lithography and semiconductor technologies, including extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, optical proximity correction (OPC), and computational lithography. Recent projects include developing specifications for EUV photomasks, designing optical devices that account for manufacturing effects, and creating semiconductor digital twins to model the chip design and manufacturing process to an electrical analysis. Dr. Melvin received his Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin and his B.S. from the University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign. He also completed postdoctoral research in X-ray lithography and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His career spans the intersection of physics, engineering, manufacturing, and software, with a focus on helping the semiconductor industry design and build increasingly complex microchips.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJoin Synopsys Senior Director, Product Management Group Larry Melvin for a talk on careers in digital chip design.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Join Synopsys Senior Director, Product Management Group Larry Melvin for a talk on careers in digital chip design."}],"uid":"36558","created_gmt":"2026-10-14 19:18:42","changed_gmt":"2026-10-14 19:22:33","author":"zwiniecki3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-10-20T15:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2026-10-20T16:30:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-10-20T16:30:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-10-20 19:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2026-10-20 20:30:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-10-20 20:30:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"Exhibition Hall, Kirkwood Room (273)","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1255","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"182061","name":"chip design"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"177814","name":"Postdoc"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"},{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}