Arnoud van der Wel. Remove the scaffolding of your life. Arnoud van der Wel PCDI retreat STEM 30 October 2014

Transcription

1 Arnoud van der Wel Remove the scaffolding of your life Arnoud van der Wel PCDI retreat STEM 30 October 2014

2 0. Science! 1/f noise in MOSFETS under Large Signal Excitation Gb/s Clock & Data Recovery in standard CMOS Stepwise approximation of cosine-shaped current 30 Highly digitized transceivers for improved EMC in CAN bus networks. I out [ma] Manage a group of 18 researchers, developers, circuit designers t x

3 Table of contents 1. Something about myself 2. How do you do it What do you do? 3. Drive 4. Lessons learnt, setbacks, work/life balance 3

4 Table of contents 1. Something about myself 2. How do you do it What do you do? 3. Drive 4. Lessons learnt, setbacks, work/life balance 4

5 CV 1974: Born, NL 1979: Moved to Morogoro, Tanzania with my parents : IB, International School Moshi, Tanzania : Electrical Engineering, University of Twente. Internship at the University of Zambia (Lusaka) MSc project: Reduction of 1/f noise in MOS transistors : Teachers training course, University of Twente Secondary school Physics teacher : PhD, Electrical Engineering, University of Twente : Philips, NXP (Eindhoven): Research Scientist 2013 : Group Leader Design & Architecture High Voltage & Power innovation center, CR&D, NXP. Part-time work ( ) 5

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10 Hobbies Collect oscilloscopes And other obscure electronics Program microcontrollers And I have a soft spot for Matlab Travel by motorcycle 10

11 Summary Both professionally and personally: Change is a constant (and is good!) Letting go of old things is hard Embracing new stuff is challenging (but fun!) Kids cost an inordinate amount of time But they give you a reason WHY! 11

12 Table of contents 1. Something about myself 2. How do you do it What do you do? 3. Drive 4. Lessons learnt, setbacks, work/life balance 12

13 Scientist Manager: A huge difference! Same people, same company, same group, same subject. But at the same time: everything else changes: Now, I am the boss I am responsible I am the one who takes the final decisions I am the one who carries out the appraisals at the end of the year Colleagues become subordinates A full day job spent on running the place: Timesheets Meetings Expense approvals No time for science anymore... 13

14 Scientist Manager: A huge difference...? A normal, gradual progression: Internship MsC project PhD project Moving from: Do the job as well as possible, to Do the right job at the right time. Can you be just Writer? Builder? Manager? If you have ideas about what should be done find a place where you can so something with them! Otherwise, you risk becoming frustrated. 14

15 My observations as a manager: I am completely dependent on what others perform I coach people. Need to know what makes them tick Celebrate diversity: People that are not like you. Soichiro Honda: If you hire only those people you understand, the company will never get people better than you are. Always remember that you often find outstanding people among those you don't particularly like. Everyone needs a different level of support. Does everyone have a fun, exciting, challenging job to do? Give recognition, be critical. Place the bar somewhere! And: give direction! 15

16 Table of contents 1. Something about myself 2. How do you do it What do you do? 3. Drive 4. Lessons learnt, setbacks, work/life balance 16

17 Drive... Easy or difficult does not really depend on the subject, but almost entirely on how interesting it is to you Full-time PhD; be paid for it! Extremely luxurious! Main challenge now: Work/life balance. Impossible to focus 100% on anything. Balance between work, family, and hobby. Be the best possible group leader I can be In 40 hours a week. Me? I want to make a difference! 17

18 Table of contents 1. Something about myself 2. How do you do it What do you do? 3. Drive 4. Lessons learnt, setbacks, work/life balance 18

19 Lessons Learnt Need to be doing something challenging! Managers are no parasites! Work hard every day. Nobody promised you an easy ride! 19

20 Work/Life balance Should not be either/or: Functional Life is a prerequisite for work. Work supports all the things in Life. There is no single correct balance, but try to choose consciously! 20

21 Setbacks Did not get to do the PhD of choice MIT, Stanford, Caltech.. Found life as a teacher at a secondary school very very difficult And I quit that line of my career Axiom IC Where did all my colleagues go...? First few years at Philips/NXP. Accidentally applied for a job at a research institute 21

22 Rounding off.. You don t know what you like/don t like until you try. Stay true to yourself! (though that is very, very difficult) I think I enjoy what I am doing, but quite possibly I will draw a different conclusion eventually. Keep looking for tension, excitement, and challenge! 1st year student, 1st year PhD, 1st real job, 1st day in front of the class at a secondary school, first time to teach a university, First time to have an appraisal meeting with someone. Don t know what the future will bring, but hope & trust it will be really scary. Better do something than do nothing. 22

23 And who do I want to be when I grow up? Ted Simon- Jupiter s travels Being Understanding Knowing Being able to Having 23

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