David Lewis: Exploring The Use of Sub-Threshold Transistors Using Genetic Algorithms

David Lewis is a senior at Olivet College and is double majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics. He recently participated in the 2007 UCSC Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Information Technology (SURF-IT) sponsored by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. David worked with Professor Matthew R. Guthaus investigating the use of sub-threshold transistors through application of genetic algorithm techniques.

David was responsible for implementing code to interface with the circuit simulator. This would apply genetic algorithm techniques to generate circuit definition files for the circuit simulator and determine the fitness of the definition based on the simulator output. Work on this project needs to be completed. Similar research in circuit design has been done by others, but by focusing on sub-threshold transistors, new circuit designs and applications could be discovered.

David will be pursuing a graduate-level education after completing his Bachelor of Arts degree. Although he is interested in aspects of computer science, his interests in applied mathematics and other higher level mathematics will likely lead him in a direction away from pure computer programming. This research experience has made David more determined to work towards and complete a graduate degree, but has also given him some insight into what would be expected of a student working on a programming project.