• I am.....
• Contact
• Teaching
• Research
• Publications (full publication list)
• Duties
• Personal

Brief Bio

From Jan 2003 to Sep 2003, I was a visiting scholar at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, Indiana, USA. (Hosts: Prof. V. Balakrishnan and Prof. C.-K. Koh)

I got hired in Dec 2003 by my mother school and now I am working as an Associate Professor there (here).

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Contact

Teaching

• ELEC3206 : Control Systems (Spring 2005)
• ELEC3612 : VLSI Design Principles (Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010, Spring 2009, Spring 2008, Spring 2007, Spring 2006)

• ELEC6027 : Integrated Circuit Systems Design(Spring 2004)
• ELEC6049 : Digital System Design Techniques (Fall 2008, Fall 2006, Spring 2006, Fall 2004)
• ELEC6077 : CMOS Analogue Integrated Circuit Design (Spring 2008)
• ELEC8201 : Introduction to Robust Control (Fall 2007, Fall 2005)
• ELEC8303 : VLSI Interconnect Modeling and Optimization (Fall 2006)
• ELEC8503 : Top Algorithms in Science and Engineering (Fall 2010, Fall 2008)
• ELEC8506 : Lumped System Theory (Fall 2011, Fall 2009)

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Research

My mainstream research currently focuses on circuit macromodeling, with particular attention paid to passivity characterization and model order reduction, both crucial for stable and computationally efficient electronic design automation (EDA). The core of research deals with fast matrix equation solvers and differential algebraic equation analyses. I am also moving into nonlinear circuit modeling necessitated by its potential in high-frequency RF circuit simulation.

Another interest of mine is on accurate and efficient digital filter design algorithms, and in fact general circuit optimization problems. I also work with local IC industry on some FPGA prototyping and power electronics circuits.

The following projects are open to students (undergrad or postgrad, full-time or part-time) who are interested in doing something meaningful and fruitful in their career or leisure time. They are parts of some larger projects so I will be working on them anyway. The nature of collaboration is flexible and negotiable (e.g., as a Research Assistant, voluntary helper, eager learner etc.), but once you're committed, you are expected to report regularly and generate useful outcomes. Feel free to drop by or send me an email for further discussion.

Project Descriptions (in no particular order)

External Grants

1. "Advanced Nonlinear Parametric Compact Modeling Techniques for Analog/RF Simulation" GRF Code: 718711E (Award date: 30 Jun 2011, Project Period: (36 months))
2. "Canonical Projector Techniques with Applications in VLSI Modeling and Simulation" GRF Code: 718509E (Award date: 30 Jun 2009, Project Period: 01 Jan 2010 - 31 Dec 2011 (24 months))
3. "Versatile Model Order Reduction of Frequency-Dependent VLSI Interconnect Models" RGC Code: HKU 717407E (Award date: 29 Jun 2007, Project Period: 01 Sep 2007 - 31 Aug 2010 (36 months))
4. "Very Fast VLSI Model Reduction For CAD Applications," RGC Code: HKU 7173/04E (Award date: 03 Aug 2004, Project Period: 01 Jan 2005 - 30 Apr 2007 (28 months))
5. "Low-power Integrated Circuit Design Techniques for Digital Audio Coder/Decoder," (joint project w/ Solomon Systech Ltd.) ITF Proj. Ref: UIT/079 (Period: 01 Sep 2005 - 31 Aug 2007)
6. ASTRI industrial project: R & D Collaboration for CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) Project (Completed)
7. ASTRI industrial project: Near Field Antenna Array Design (On-going)

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Publications

Duties

• Open Day (Info Day) & Summer Camp EEE Coordinator (2005 till now) together with Dr. Kenneth K. Y. Wong.
• EEE Admission Tutor and Engineering Admission Committee (2005 till now) together with Mr. P.C. Chui and Dr. Kenneth K. Y. Wong.
• EEE Safety Coordinator (2004/05). You can download my safety talk here.

Personal

1. A book that I enjoy reading, though I haven't really started reading it. The book implies that if human's life is convex, we can optimize it. Please kindly observe its copyright.
   (SIMPLE PROOF FOR THE CONVEXITY OF LIFE: you were alive when you were born, you are alive at this moment, you must be alive any point in between, that implies everyone's life is a convex one.)
2. Selected topics, again, regarding some algorithms. I found these stuff extremely inspiring as they represent the distilled knowledge over many generations.
3. I do some photography in leisure time, a good source of technical references can be found here. I go here for artistic references. I use both film & digital cameras. A golden rule is that camera doesn't matter, PERIOD. It's the photographer's job to maximize the gain from whatever gear he/she's given. For example, I use Canon A70 for this pic (Montreal, Canada, May 2004). And a Nikon F65 plus a popular 28-105mm lens for this, this, this and this (Greek islands, Aug 2002). The F65 and the lens are still with me, functioning superb, and I use A70 mostly for documentary purpose. Nowadays, since most film stores and developers are dying, I also hold a Nikon D70s and I'm happy shooting without worrying too much about camera bodies.

Last updated: 11 Jan 2012