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Date:  Wed, December 17, 2025
Time:  10:30am
Location:  IfA Hilo Library
Speaker:  Dr. Kevin Kam, Apple (Exploratory Design Group)

Hosted by the College of Engineering

Zoom Link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/82700280492

ECE Graduate Students: This will count towards your seminar credit.

Abstract:

Modern ground-based astronomy and scientific instrumentation require ever higher precision, speed, and integration as sensors and detectors grow in resolution and complexity. While advances in optical systems and sensor materials have expanded measurement capabilities, electronics, control circuits, and real-time data acquisition often limit overall performance. My research addresses this challenge by developing integrated sensor-circuit systems that unite device-level innovation, mixed-signal ASIC design, and high-speed FPGA-based pipelines, creating scalable, high-performance instrumentation.

This talk highlights work on piezoelectric and optical sensor fabrication, CMOS tapeouts including a piezoelectric analog front-end and microLED display driver, and abstracted methodologies from industrial R&D focused on system integration and instrumentation validation. These efforts enable applications such as adaptive optics, high-speed photometry, and heterogeneous sensor platforms, where precise electronics and real-time control are essential.

I will conclude by discussing future directions, including cryogenic and radiation-tolerant readout, integrated control for adaptive optics, and high-speed instrumentation development. Emphasis will be placed on opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, translating emerging sensor technologies into operational, high-performance systems that will meaningfully support astronomy research at the University of Hawai‘i.

Biography:

Kevin Kam is an analog integrated-circuit designer in Apple’s Exploratory Design Group. He earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University and a B.S. from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. His research spans analog and mixed-signal IC design, sensor microfabrication and integration, and high-speed data acquisition and instrumentation. He is a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and has held positions at Apple’s Silicon Engineering Group and the Custom Silicon Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.