Transition from Corporate to Academia
What motivated you to move from being a CTO to becoming a professor? Was this a long-term plan or a spontaneous opportunity?
A bit of both. I’ve always been deeply interested in technology and research. For instance, I’ve remained actively involved in the solid-state circuit community as a member of the program committee for the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) and the steering committee of the European Solid-State Electronics Conference (ESSERC). On the other hand, I was very happy at ICsense and had no plans to leave until I saw the job posting. For someone like me, who prefers a technical focus throughout their career, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
What skills and insights from your role as CTO do you bring to your work as a professor?
I’ll certainly carry over my experience in efficient and meticulous design. I can also introduce knowledge about mixed-signal modeling, testing, and quality assurance into the curriculum. Additionally, I aim to support students with entrepreneurial mindsets by guiding and advising them on starting their own businesses.
What differences or similarities do you see between working in a company and working in academia?
The main difference is, of course, teaching and passing on knowledge to a diverse student community. In terms of research, academia allows for slightly more risk-taking compared to guaranteeing the production of millions of units per month. However, the differences shouldn’t be overstated: chip production has become so expensive that universities also cannot justify non-functional circuits. I hope to contribute to analog verification knowledge here. Universities face challenges in our field, such as the rapid evolution of CAD, process technology, and testing methodologies, making it hard and costly to maintain in-house expertise. Supporting master’s and PhD students with state-of-the-art tools and staying updated with industry advances will require closer collaboration with industry, as seen in the chip design micro-credentials program.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
As a former CTO of a spin-off, what do you think academics can learn from start-ups, and vice versa?
The main difference is realizing that the technically or scientifically best solution isn’t always the one that succeeds. Many other factors determine whether a product or company becomes successful. Conversely, academics can offer start-ups deeper insights into global knowledge and trends.
How important do you find maintaining ties with industry as a researcher? Did your work at ICsense influence your perspective?
I think it’s crucial to stay informed about industry developments. At ICsense, I saw fields where little was published, and the industry had a lead over academia. Universities must stay up to date in their specialization domains, which is only possible through strong industry connections. However, blue-sky research isn’t always feasible in the industry due to risk, and universities play an essential role here. Research groups like MICAS are ideal partners for high-risk exploratory projects.
What role do universities play in the future of technological innovation?
Universities must continue conducting blue-sky, high-risk research and feeding companies with new ideas. Encouraging entrepreneurship and spin-offs is essential to remain competitive in our globalized sector.
Research and Future Plans
What are the key research questions or themes you want to address in your new role?
My main interest lies in ultra-low-power, high-precision readout chains for sensors. Looking at recent developments, smart sensors are now indispensable in our surroundings, with applications demanding longer battery life. I believe we need to explore new concepts for reading sensor data, such as using modulation techniques to multiplex sensors in the frequency domain rather than the time domain. I am also delving into chaos theory, as a better understanding of non-linear systems opens up a world of new possibilities. Many signals don’t require linear quantization; some systems, for instance, benefit more from logarithmic conversion.
Another topic close to my heart is the electrification of mobility. To ensure we can drive further and more safely with electric vehicles, more advanced electronics are required. However, the environment within an electric vehicle is harsh for integrated circuits, combining high voltage, electromagnetic interference, and the need for high precision with very low power consumption, especially in standby mode.
Is there a specific project or technology you’re currently excited about?
Recently, I learned from Professors Verhelst and Dehaene about the latest AI processors being constrained by power distribution limitations. The smallest technologies required for these high-performance systems encounter physical limits due to the resistance in their power supply lines. While current state-of-the-art processors solve this by stacking multiple chips and interposers to address these connections in 3D, my vision is to resolve this more affordably and efficiently by using higher supply voltages and integrating power management, including high-efficiency DC-DC converters, into the digital domain.
How does your research align with the rest of MICAS? Is it a continuation of Michiel Steyaert’s work, or are they mostly your own topics?
At MICAS, we integrate the various subfields of integrated circuits. Together with six professors, we cover everything from digital to analog design, from system architecture to transistor-level design, and from low to very high frequencies. My research fits well within this framework. It could be described as low-frequency analog design grounded in mathematical systems theory, covering a wide range of applications not yet addressed by my colleagues but with sufficient overlap to foster synergies and collaborations. While my work isn’t a continuation of Professor Steyaert’s, his contributions in areas like power management and ADC-DAC design are unavoidable in analog design, and there will inevitably be overlap.
Education and Leadership
You will also be teaching: what do you hope to impart to your students that you found important in your career?
Curiosity, above all, as that’s where everything begins. As an engineer, you must find joy in asking, "How does this work?" and "How can I make this better?" Once you lose curiosity, the learning process halts, and in a rapidly evolving field like ours, you risk losing technical relevance.
How does your experience as a CTO influence your teaching or mentoring approach?
The major advantage for my students is that I can provide real-world examples of actual products. I can excite them by discussing measurement systems developed here in Belgium that might be in their pockets without them realizing it. I also incorporate the mistakes I’ve made over 20 years of circuit design into my lessons under the motto: "You learn the most from your mistakes." Additionally, I share my entrepreneurial experiences with them.
Do you have specific ideas for strengthening the connection between universities and industry? What can students learn from entrepreneurial experience?
Unfortunately, our curriculum doesn’t allow for long industrial internships. However, there are still plenty of ways to show students that the chip industry is thriving in Belgium and isn’t solely a Silicon Valley domain. For instance, the IEEE student branch has organized lunch talks where companies present their developments to bachelor’s students in 20 minutes. These presentations have significant impact. We also frequently invite industry speakers to master’s-level courses. It’s crucial for universities to listen to industry partners and provide them a platform to showcase their latest developments to students.
The Person Behind the Title
What do you enjoy doing outside of work? Are there hobbies or interests that might be unexpected?
I still play volleyball with the former leadership team of the Chiro in Kalfort. The level of play isn’t high, but the fun during and especially after the match is immense. I also try to join the local running club weekly. Together with my wife and two sons, I enjoy outings such as nature walks, city visits, or exhibitions. I also love playing board games.
Where do you draw inspiration from outside of technology? Are there books, art forms, or other sources that stimulate your thinking?
I’m a big fan of science fiction, both books and series like Star Trek. It’s the perfect genre to tackle challenging societal issues by drawing allegories with the real world and magnifying those problems while keeping them within the narrative. I also read extensively in other genres; there’s always a book or comic on our coffee table or my nightstand. Music is another source of inspiration, and you’ll often hear the radio or an album by The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Sinéad O’Connor, Suzanne Vega, and many others playing in my office.
Do you have a role model in the tech or academic world?
I’ve always looked up to my professors. I hope to convey the same passion for my field as Professor Sansen did in his lessons. KU Leuven had an excellent faculty in that regard. You don’t realize it as a student, but when I attended my first ISSCC and saw the global authority of my then-promoter, Professor Steyaert, I became even more determined to continue in this field.
What inspired you to pursue a career in technology and innovation? Are there specific moments or people that stand out?
As a child, I was always disassembling objects to understand how they worked. My family greatly encouraged this curiosity. My grandfather let me help with various tasks early on, and my father introduced me to electricity and computer technology from a young age.
Vision for the Future
How do you see the role of technology evolving over the next 10 years, especially considering current ethical and societal discussions?
This is a difficult but important question. On one hand, we’re moving towards a world where technology will dominate everything. Consider the number of parameters a smartwatch now measures—heart rate, blood pressure, movement, and so on—and this number will only grow. This raises serious questions about privacy and desirability. On the other hand, these measured parameters will provide valuable insights into human and individual health, undoubtedly saving lives.
The electrification of transportation is another example where we must maintain a critical perspective. While the health and climate benefits are undeniable, this technology remains expensive, potentially exacerbating societal inequality. As engineers, we enable these changes, which is incredibly exciting, but we must remain conscious of the societal implications of our innovations. Universities, combining technical and humanities faculties, have a significant role to play in the societal debate on such groundbreaking and sometimes disruptive technologies.
What would you change about how universities handle spin-offs and tech entrepreneurship?
MICAS is doing well in this area. Currently, there are seven active spin-offs, with more launched and supported in the past. However, we can’t rest on our laurels. A more open mindset is needed. Encourage entrepreneurial students to seek real customers rather than role-playing scenarios. Invite entrepreneurs to speak about their experiences. Too often, there’s an excessive focus on intellectual property rights before conducting a market study. I understand the university’s desire to protect its research, but this shouldn’t hinder entrepreneurship. I strongly believe in the long-term returns of granting more freedom to entrepreneurs.
What technological trends do you see as pivotal for the future of our society?
As engineers, particularly in microelectronics, we should remain humble. The future will largely depend on how effectively we tackle the climate crisis. Given the recent spate of climate disasters, the impact of climate change on food supply, livability, and migration will be so significant that other technological trends may seem trivial in comparison. However, as engineers, we can contribute by developing solutions to these problems. Electrification will be a key component, which ties back to my field: reducing power consumption in electronic circuits and creating more accurate sensor readouts to build systems capable of addressing tomorrow’s immense challenges. Measuring is understanding.
