From Spain to Austria: A Student’s Drive to Be a Professor

Reading time ( words)

The AltiumLive event in Munich drew several hundred PCB designers from around Europe, including engineering students interested in PCB design. I spoke with Pablo Sanchez Martinez, a student at FH Joanneum in Austria who is working toward being a full professor in hardware design. Pablo discussed his studies in engineering and PCB design, the classes he’s teaching, and his plans for teaching the young engineers of the future.

Andy Shaughnessy: How are you doing, Pablo?

Pablo Sanchez Martinez: Hello, Andy. I’m great. Nice to meet you.

Shaughnessy: Nice to meet you too. I understand that you’re a university student. Can you tell us a little about yourself and what brings you to AltiumLive in Munich?

Martinez: I’m originally from Spain but have been working for three years at FH Joanneum, a university located in Austria. I normally do power electronics. I work in a research center at the university, and we have a lot of products based on power electronics, power converters, transistors, etc.

Shaughnessy: Are you working toward being a full-time professor?

Martinez: Yes, until now, I’ve been mainly teaching and doing research, but I would like to become a professor. I am also striving towards getting a Ph.D. and I am using all of this experience that I am gaining through the years with research projects to prepare for my teaching courses.

Shaughnessy: And what is your original degree?

Martinez: I studied industrial engineering in Spain, and I did my master’s thesis at FH Joanneum, which is how I got to know the research center.

Shaughnessy: And I’m guessing you use Altium tools?

Martinez: Yes. Altium is very important to us. We do high-powered converters. For example, we need to control the clearance and printed requirements in these power devices. In Altium, having a set of design rules with everything you can control is very useful for us. My whole work is based on Altium.

Shaughnessy: What classes are you teaching at the university?

Martinez: I’m teaching practical courses on Altium, actually. I’m teaching how to design PCB circuits as well as some courses and labs on power electronics, including semiconductor packaging.

To read this entire column, which appeared in the March 2019 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.

01/26/2023 | Ashutosh Mauskar, Cadence Design Systems

Technology has always invoked radical changes, but unlike today, there used to be one major revolutionizing technology trend at a time. The world is becoming increasingly connected, more automated and more intelligent, driven by generational drivers—hyperscale computing, 5G, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), industrial IoT (IIoT), and autonomous vehicles—which are invoking disruptive technological forces on vertical markets, unfolding varied levels of microelectronics and digital transformation across the globe. The increasing demand for miniaturization and higher speed is changing the dynamics of the semiconductor components needed to store and process data.

01/16/2023 | I-Connect007 Editorial Team

Altium keeps its eyes on the designers of the future. The company has been working with colleges and universities for years, providing free seats of Altium Designer for the next generation of PCB designers and design engineers. At IPC APEX EXPO 2023, Altium will be providing software for the finalists in the IPC Design Competition just as it did last year. They offer a variety of other educational programs as well, including Upverter classes and a design competition that aims to address environmental change. Here, Rea Callender, Altium’s VP of education, discusses its educational programs and plans for the week of the show.

01/06/2023 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007

The youngsters are back in school, and we’re all back to work. The water is back on for most of us in Atlanta; when temps dropped down to 8 degrees Fahrenheit, our pipes started bursting left and right. After a Christmas dinner with no water, I have a new appreciation for H2O. It’s been a busy week, and we published a variety of articles, columns, and news items. In this week’s top five, we have news about the market in Southeast Asia, a look at what the CHIPS Act really entails, a deep dive into CMMC, and a peek at how printed electronics developers are using flexible circuit concepts to facilitate PEC. We also say goodbye to a Top Gun PCB designer who left us way too soon.