Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1093246
42 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2019 too much time and money. It's a waste. Fo- cus on design." That was right around the time when FPGAs were starting to shine. I liked the flexibility of being able to reprogram a chip; that's firmware. Initially, in my senior year, I started a research project to work on some FPGA stuff, but then we shifted focus and built a robot instead. Shaughnessy: Do you have any advice you would offer to young people who are maybe on the verge of entering this field? Hazelett: I'm getting to do what I always want- ed to do. I get to help people find solutions to their problems and equip those engineers and fabricators to solve them. I don't get bogged down in all of their problems. It's like they're building a house, and I get to hand them a hammer and some nails and show them how to use it. Then, I get to come back and say "Wow. That's a really cool house." Shaughnessy: If you were talking with a ran- dom high school or college kid interested in electronics, what would you recommend? Hazelett: I'd tell them to go make the next Face- book; I'm kidding (laughs). I'd say, "Imagine the potential. You could help design the next Xbox, Oculus Rift, Apple phone, or Google phone. There is the possibility that you could come up with the next hardware tool that transforms our lives." I would also encourage them to design and make their own projects or even follow the instructions someone else has put out there to make something. Shaughnessy: A lot of engineering graduates don't realize that designing a circuit board is a career on its own. Maybe it's like your story where they were told, "That's what the techs will do." Hazelett: Right. There are a lot of universi- ties and professors. I can't speak that broad- ly, but there are some who know that this is important and this is a field, and they're go- ing to be the ones to help educate and enlight- en their students about this field—one where you could find enjoyment. Other universities have an ivory tower conception that they are educating silicon designers only, but they still need a way to connect that chip to other chips and devices! Shaughnessy: Thanks for your time, Geoffrey. It's always a pleasure. Hazelett: Thank you, Andy. DESIGN007 A team of researchers based at The University of Man- chester have found a new low-cost method for producing graphene-printed electronics, which significantly speeds up and reduces the cost of conductive graphene inks. The development of printed conductive inks for electronic applications has grown rapidly, widening applica- tions in transistors, sensors, anten- nas RFID tags, and wearable elec- tronics. The team has found that using a non-toxic and environmental- ly friendly and sustainable mate- rial called dihydrolevogucosenone (also known as Cyrene) can also provide higher concen- trations and conductivity of graphene ink. "Materials characterization is crucial to be able to en- sure performance reproducibility and scale up for com- mercial applications of graphene and 2D materials. The results of this collaboration between the Uni- versity of Manchester and NPL is mutually beneficial, as well as pro- viding measurement training for Ph.D. students in a metrology insti- tute environment," said Professor Ling Hao, an NPL scientist. (Source: NPOL) Scientists Develop New Method to Revolutionize Graphene-printed Electronics