News | August 18, 2025
Professor Jason Cong gave a Keynote Speech and ACM Breakthrough Lecture
Professor Jason Cong gave a keynote speech and the ACM Breakthrough Lecture at KDD’2025 on August 5, 2025 in Toronto, Canada. His talk, titled “Deep Learning Meets Chip Design: Driving Next-Gen Efficiency and Innovation”, discussed the opportunities and progress for AI models and hardware accelerator co-design towards the goal of efficient general intelligence (EGI). It also presented the latest research results at UCLA on using AI/ML techniques to automate chip designs to enable further innovation. KDD is the premier Data Science conference, hosting both a Research Track and an Applied Data Science Track. KDD’2025 was attended by over 2,300 researchers and practitioners.
Job Opportunities
RFA Electric
Are you ready to build something that actually matters? We’re on a mission to dominate the electromagnetic spectrum by applying powerful AI to radio design – and we’re hiring the brightest minds to do it.
We are a Los Angeles startup team of veteran RF engineers and world-class AI researchers backed by top-tier investors engaged with blue-chip aerospace and defense primes and the US Government.
We are seeking BS/MS/PhD interns, graduates, and experienced engineers in the fields of:
Large language model design, fine-tuning, benchmarking, and inference
Business development and government relations (yes engineers wanted)
Knowledge of RF and analog systems, or signal processing, is a plus.
Apply now to join the team building the radios that win battles before they start.
Internship Opportunity: Ayar Labs
Ayar Labs is in search of a number of summer interns. The internships span several areas, including circuit design, photonics, computer vision/AI, data science, and hardware engineering.
For more details and to apply, students can visit: Ayar Labs Internship Opportunities.
Research Opportunity: Geothermal Technology Development (UCLA)
The research group of Professor Sergio Carbajo at UCLA is seeking a highly motivated
graduate engineering student to contribute to an exciting geothermal technology research project for 1-2 months during Winter Quarter. This is an excellent opportunity to gain hands-on research experience and earn university research credit.
Project Overview:
This project, under the direction of Professor Carbajo, focuses on developing innovative technologies to enhance geothermal energy extraction and super deep drilling. The selected student will play a key role in the design and modeling of novel technology.
Responsibilities:
- Utilize CAD software to design and refine components for direct energy drilling and geothermal rigging systems.
- Contribute to the modeling and analysis of hydrodynamic and electromagnetic phenomena within the system.
- Collaborate with the research team to interpret simulation results and contribute to project discussions.
- Document research findings and contribute to technical reports or presentations.
Qualifications:
- Currently enrolled graduate student in Electrical Engineering (EE) or Mechanical Engineering at UCLA.
- Experience with CAD design software (e.g., SolidWorks, AutoCAD, Fusion 360).
- Interest or experience in hydrodynamics and electromagnetism.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Expertise with Field-Effect Transistors (FETs) or Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs).
Benefits:
- Earn university research credit.
- Gain valuable research experience in a cutting-edge field.
- Opportunity to contribute to a real-world energy solution for climate change.
- Work alongside experienced researchers and faculty at UCLA, including Professor Sergio Carbajo.
Time Commitment:
1-2 months during Winter Quarter, with flexible scheduling to accommodate academic
commitments.
To Apply:
Interested students should submit their resume/CV and a brief statement of interest (one paragraph) outlining their relevant skills and experience to johnfstrike@gmail.com. Please include “Geothermal Research Application” in the subject line. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.
Electronics/PCB Development Undergraduate Internship Opportunity
Employment Period: Year-round
Location: On-campus
Approximate hours per week: 5+ hours
Duration: 6-24 months
Salary / Pay rate / Stipend: $20/hour
Relevant Website: https://www.edroplets.org/
Job description
Digital microfluidics is a technology that enables programmable control over individual droplets using electrical signals on a chip, which has been transforming wet labs towards the era of lab-on-a-chip. You will develop electronic control circuits for operating digital microfluidics chips. This is a highly engineering-oriented project, which requires independent schematic design, PCB layout design, PCB manufacturing, and assembly outsourcing for various circuits and electronic systems. You will also work with the mechanical design and software development team guided by graduate students to create multiple products. These products will be used by numerous digital microfluidics researchers and startups around the world through an open-source platform (edroplets.org).
For domestic students (US Citizen or Permanent Resident), the payment may be a stipend from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program.
For international students, the payment will be through a regular research fund.
For those who prefer research credits over stipends, SRP 99 or MAE 199 is also possible.
What you will get:
(1) You will experience creating a real-world electronic product for a transformative technology, which will be used by lots of real users!
(2) You will get hands-on experience and training in schematic/PCB/electronics design and development
(3) You will learn the basic knowledge and industry status of digital microfluidics, and participate in translating ground-breaking research into real-world products
(4) You may become a co-author of resulting journal and conference publications
Quality & skill desired:
(1) A strong and genuine interest in electronics is essential. If you are a DIYer who loves working with electronics and wants to build something impactful, this is a perfect project for you.
(2) Enjoy working in a team with different expertise is essential. The ability to articulate your work to non-technical team members is essential.
(3) Experience with Altium Designer, KiCAD or other PCB design software is a plus. Experience with LabView is a plus. Experience in making a PCB from design to manufacturing is a huge plus.
(4) No experience or knowledge of digital microfluidics is required
Interested? Please send your resume to Professor CJ Kim (cjkim@ucla.edu) and Leo Wang (wangqining265@gmail.com). If there’s a good match, you will be invited to an interview.
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