Chinese New Year is on January 29, 2025. The Gregorian calendar date is based on the Chinese lunisolar calendar, so the date moves around each year from our perspective. Celebrations last 16 days, but our family tends to note just the first day. We like to watch the lion dance and fireworks when we can (see figure). For us, this would typically be held in Philadelphia’s China Town area.
This is the year of the snake, 蛇. The Chinese zodiac sign is part of a 12-year cycle. 2024 was the year of the dragon.
This year looks to be more tumultuous than ever. Donald Trump’s flurry of executive orders is causing all sorts of confusion that’s tossed lots of long-term plans out the window. It’s even hard to keep track of what is going on. For example, first there was the freeze on federal grants, which was quickly rescinded.
Our profession faces many challenges this year.
Trust Me. I’m an Engineer
I’m an electrical engineer and programmer by trade. I moved over to the dark side decades ago, though, because I could convert our incantations—as some call our work—into prose that readers seem to like and learn from. I still build and program, but as a hobby rather than a job.
One thing I’m concerned about more this year is what people generally think about engineers and programmers, which likely includes most of our readers at some point in their career. Scientists have tended to fare poorly outside of their area of expertise because the general public tends to listen to vocal critics rather than learn at least a few details. Global warming is discounted and biodiversity (will this be tossed out like other diversity programs?) is often viewed as trivial or unimportant when put up against profits.
Part of the challenge for many scientists is that much of what they’re involved with requires long-term observation, whereas more immediate feedback for something like battery chemistry can be shown quickly and repeatedly.
This sort of brings about my feelings about engineers and programmers, as their solutions are often more immediate and physical in nature. Okay, software tends to be a bit nebulous, but you can usually see the results. Showing justification tends to be easier because of this immediacy.
“Professional Engineers,” who are normally electrical or civil engineers, essentially sign their life away on plans and projects they review. These include critical and safety infrastructure like buildings and bridges. They must follow the rules, regulations, and standards set out, often by law, to make sure that the resulting system is safe.
The attempt to purge the U.S. federal workforce and probably replace it with scientists, engineers, and others that are beholden to politicians first will further weaken our standing overall, regardless of whether one agrees with their recommendations or work.
Artificial Electrified Chaos
SEO experts will probably ding me for this subhead, because it doesn’t explicitly state what I want to talk about. So I will have to do it now. This section revolves around two very broad topics we tend to cover regularly at Electronic Design: artificial intelligence (AI) and electrification.
Chinese-based DeepSeek’s generative AI announcement caused a ruckus in the stock market, primarily from investors who don’t have a clue about the AI market on the hardware and software side of things. Reading the very detailed paper released by DeepSeek makes it very apparent what they did and how it will impact the rest of the marketplace. It’s a significant step forward, but not one that will radically alter the market. It’s just one of many improvements we will continue to see in AI.
Of course, AI has more than its share of controversy. The BBC noted that OpenAI says Chinese rivals use its work for their AI apps. This includes DeepSeek. It also brings out issues regarding open-source software, open-source AI and training, and so on, but more than can be covered here.
The electrification side covers lots of ground. However, much of it focuses on green energy, including solar and wind as well as electric cars. The current political climate in the U.S. isn’t conducive to these products and technologies, even though many companies have significant investment and long-term plans long these lines. These are being challenged by changes in programs, credits, tariffs, and taxes.
The challenge we face is that some companies and politicians like to push the envelope to its breaking point to get the most profit and power. Some like to combine the two. Rules and laws tend to be the boundaries that are pushed along the lines of “it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission” and “it doesn't matter if you don’t get caught.”
“In Chinese symbology, snakes are regarded as intelligent, with a tendency to lack scruples.” We shall see how things fare for the rest of us this year. Hopefully we will all make it to 2026 and the year of the horse.
Personally, I’m taking some tips from garden guru Mike McGrath with "You Bet Your Garden" to spend my extra time making sure my raised beds have some fruits and vegetables for this year. At least I haven’t found any snakes there. Yet.
