Toktumi’s Peter Sisson Rides A Good Idea To Market Success

By John Edwards, September 20, 2011

Peter Sisson of San Francisco-based Toktumi discusses how it feels to lead a startup that attracts widespread acclaim, and how even a good idea usually isn’t enough to ensure continued success.

Trevor Blackwell: Robots Are His Business

By John Edwards, August 16, 2011

Trevor Blackwell CEO of Mountain View, Calif.-based AnyBots, talks about the challenge of starting a company that straddles the worlds of business and science fiction.

Larry O’Connor: A Former Entrepreneurial Prodigy Retraces His Journey to Business Success

By John Edwards, July 17, 2011

In 1988, 14-year-old Larry O’Connor launched Other World Computing (OWC) by selling RAM kits from his family home’s garage. Twenty-three years later, Woodstock, Ill.-based OWC has grown into a $70 million global business. Along the way, O’Connor’s commitment to protecting the environment inspired him to create a zero-emissions Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-recognized “green” company.

Andrew Feldman: Finding a Niche By Turning Technology Upside Down

By John Edwards, June 13, 2011

Andrew Feldman, entrepreneur and co-founder of SeaMicro, discusses the challenges associated with launching a computer company based on a radical new concept.

Michael Pulizzi: A Lifetime In Electronics Leads To A New Company In The Ultra-Competitive Electronics Services Field

By John Edwards, May 16, 2011

Michael B. Pulizzi explains some of the challenges he faced starting his own electronics services business called MB Pulizzi and gives us his insights into entrepreneurship.

Aaron Falk: A Serial Innovator With a Desire to Pioneer New Technologies and Help Others Succeed

By John Edwards, April 19, 2011

Aaron Falk, vice president of new product and business development for Emergent Detection, talks about the challenges and rewards associated with launching a semiconductor industry startup business.

PODCAST: Texas Instruments Talks Solar ICs

By John Edwards, February 23, 2011

Solar power is by far the world’s most abundant energy source and solar ICs are the components that can turn sunny dreams into real world power. In this podcast, Electronic Design Contributing Editor John Edwards speaks with Dave Freeman, Texas Instruments’ solar energy systems lab manager, about solar ICs and their availability, applications and design techniques and challenges.

B. Jayant Baliga: Designing The Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor

By John Edwards, November 22, 2010

B. Jayant Baliga played a major role in bringing the IGBT to reality. While working at General Electric in the late 1970s, he conceived the idea of a functional integration of MOS technology and bipolar physics—research that directly led to the IGBT’s development.

Hans W. Becke and Carl F. Wheatley: Discovering The IGBT

By John Edwards, November 22, 2010

Hans W. Becke and Carl F. Wheatley, a pair of RCA engineers, are credited with co-creating the insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). But as with so many other “breakthroughs” of the past few decades, the trail leading to the IGBT was blazed over many years by several different individuals and teams.

Gordon Bell: From Minicomputers To The Internet And Beyond

By John Edwards, November 22, 2010

As one of the first employees of Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC)and as the founder of Microsoft's first research laboratory, Gorden Bell is a computer industry pioneer with a long list of of achievements in areas ranging from minicomputers to the Internet.

John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry: Inventing The ABC, A Benchmark Digital Computer

By John Edwards, November 22, 2010

Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) was developed at Iowa State University between 1937 and 1942. It was the first computer to use binary digits and to perform all calculations electronically rather than mechanically.

Russell and Sigurd Varian: Inventing The Klystron And Saving Civilization

By John Edwards, November 22, 2010

Invented by Russell and Sigurd Varian, the klystron proved to be the key to practical microwave-based radio detection, and RADAR system developers in the U.S. and Britain embraced the device.

Melville Eastham: Workplace Innovator Crafts Early Electronic Products

By John Edwards, November 22, 2010

Melville Eastham's breakthrough technical, business, and social achievements in the first half of the 20th century were highly influential and helped create the modern electronics industry.

PODCAST: Design Challenges for Electric Vehicles

By John Edwards, July 21, 2010

Electronic Design contributing John Edwards speaks with Don Wires, director of engineering for Amp Electric Vehicles about how his company is creating opportunities for both electronics vendors and designers.

An Expert Offers A Map For Navigating The Smart Grid

By John Edwards, June 09, 2010

Marie Hattar of Cisco Systems discusses the Smart Grid’s key components, the role of security, and why it’s so important in the first place.

PODCAST: Counterfeit Components Make A Real Impact

By John Edwards, May 12, 2010

In this podcast, Electronic Design Contributing Editor John Edwards speaks with Paul Romano, chief operating officer of components distributor Fusion, about counterfeiting's impact on the electronics industry.

PODCAST: Design Challenges of Solid State Lighting

By John Edwards, May 11, 2010

PODCAST: Designing with Ultracapacitors—An Interview with Chad Hall of Ioxus

By John Edwards, March 01, 2010

In this podcast, Electronic Design contributing editor John Edwards interviews Chad Hall of Ioxus, a manufacturer of ultracapacitors.

PODCAST: Navigating the Smart Grid—An Interview with Marie Hattar of Cisco Systems

By John Edwards, February 09, 2010

This podcast discusses the emerging Smart Grid, which promises more efficient power management, potential energy savings, and new opportunities for electronics manufacturers working in a wide range of sectors.

Podcast: Applications and Design Challenges of Solid State Storage

By John Edwards, January 06, 2010

Electronic Design Contributing Editor John Edwards recently spoke with David Flynn, president and CTO of Fusion-io, about solid state storage and its applications and design challenges.