Mike Flynn recognized with SIA/SRC University Research Award

Mike Flynn, the Fawwaz T. Ulaby Collegiate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), has been awarded the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)/Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) University Research Award for Design. This award recognizes lifetime research contributions to the U.S. semiconductor industry by university faculty.

Flynn is recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to the field of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). 

“His work lays the foundation for transformative applications in fields ranging from telecommunications to biomedical engineering to artificial intelligence,” said the SIA.

Analog-to-digital converters enable the translation of analog signals, such as voltage, light, sound, or pressure, into the binary code that digital computers use. They are an integral part of many electronics we rely on everyday. Flynn and his research group have developed several methods and architectures to improve the speed and efficiency of ADCs. These innovations, including a noise-shaping successive approximation register (NS-SAR) ADC, the SAR-assisted pipeline ADC architecture for nanometer CMOS processes, and a bandpass continuous-time delta-sigma modulator for 5G wireless applications, have been widely adopted into some of today’s most efficient technologies.

Flynn has incorporated his group’s ADCs into their design of the first digital single-chip millimeter-wave beamformer for directional wireless communication and the first programmable memristor computer. As a member of the JUMP 2.0 COGNISENSE: Center on Cognitive Multispectral Sensors team, he is working on developing adaptive sensors modeled after biology.

Flynn has received a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, an NSF CAREER Award, the IEEE Brokaw Award, the Intel Outstanding Researcher Award, and the University of Michigan Faculty Recognition Award. He is an IEEE Fellow with over 175 publications to his name.

Flynn is well known for his excellent teaching and mentoring skills, earning him the College of Engineering John F. Ullrich Education Excellence Award and the Rackham Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award. He has often incorporated an ADC circuit design competition into his graduate course Integrated Analog/Digital Interface Circuits as an effective teaching tool. He was spotlighted for his teaching creativity and innovation for laboratory-based courses during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. He has also been recognized for his collaborative and collegial spirit with the College of Engineering Ted Kennedy Family Team Excellence Award and the College of Engineering Staff-Faculty Partnership Award.

Flynn will be presented with the SIA/SRC University Research Award for Design at the SIA Awards Dinner on Nov. 21, 2024, in San Jose, California.