Ying Y. Tai
Senior Director, Non-Volatile Engineering, Micron Technology
Ph.D. Electrical and Computer Engineering, '06
Ying Y. Tai is a Senior Director in Non-Volatile Engineering at Micron Technology, where he is leading the innovation effort in latest hardware and software architectures for NVM-based memory and storage systems. Prior to Micron Technology, he held senior technical and management leadership positions in the areas of data storage and communications at VIA Technologies, SanDisk Corporation, Cadence Design Systems, Boeing Satellite Systems, and Ikanos Communications.
His technical interests fall in signal processing, error correction coding, computer architecture, and non-volatile memory-based memory and storage system. He has published more than 30 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers. He also holds more than 60 issued US patents. In addition, Dr. Tai is a Senior Member of IEEE and a recipient of IEEE Communications Society Stephan O. Rice Prize.
Ying received his Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from UC Davis in 2006. He also earned his M.S and B.S. degrees from Stanford University and National Sun Yat-Sen University, respectively.
What research or technology are you most excited about right now, and why?
I am now most excited about memory architecture and system solution for data movement and storage in emerging applications. This area is evolving to transform the world in many ways including the vast amount of data for decision making, performance and latency for real time data analytics, and etc.
How did your time at UC Davis impact you and/or prepare you for your career?
My time at UC Davis as a graduate student prepared me for solid technical expertise, and problem identifying and solving with data-driven decision. Both are the foundation to my engineering career advancement.
Did you have a favorite course or instructor at UC Davis?
My favorite course is Error Control Coding (EEC269A/269B) taught by Professor Shu Lin, who was also my research advisor. Dr. Lin is a role model to me not only in research but more on life learning over my career growth.
What advice would you give to young people who are currently seeking a degree in electrical and computer engineering?
Electrical and computer engineering is a rewarding field to pursue as it paves a path to many innovation opportunities. My advice is: stay focus to build a solid technical foundation and be passionate about what you learn and do. You will achieve great things.