Spotlight: Navametha Ramkumar
Navametha Ramkumar is a master’s student in ECE, an intern at Qualcomm, and a recipient of the department’s Resonant Expert award for her contributions in the classroom as a teaching assistant. Ramkumar is interested in VLSI design and is pursuing her master’s thesis under the guidance of Professor Katie Zhao. Here in her own words, she shares with us her interests, her journey to the University of Minnesota, and what motivates her both as a student and as a teaching assistant.
What are some highlights of your time here?
"Growing up in Chennai, India, I was fascinated with the idea of studying abroad. I really liked the idea of choosing classes in different areas, working and collaborating with faculty, and having 24 hour access to labs and research resources. I also appreciate all the student support resources that the University of Minnesota offers. I am currently working on my research under Professor Katie Zhao's supervision in the area of VLSI design."
"I am thoroughly enjoying the experience, being able to do my own research. Back home, only doctoral students have 24 hour access to labs. So I am delighted to be able to work in the lab on my research whenever I want or for as long as I want. I have access to so many resources which has built my confidence and helped me figure out what I want to do."
Why did you choose the University of Minnesota?
"I applied to a few universities, but I really liked how at the University of Minnesota, the master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering has several tracks that students can choose to focus on, like communications and signal processing, VLSI, and others. I was drawn to that and it helped me make my decision to pursue my master’s degree here."
What are some of your experiences as a student?
"When I was looking at the course list to sign up for classes, I learned that the grad level digital design courses taught here are very popular. That’s how I chose my very first course. But when classes actually began, I found that the design course was really interesting to me. So I followed that first design course with several other design courses over the semesters. Around the same time, I also started working with Professor Katie Yang which strengthened my interest in the area. I am currently working on my thesis with her."
"I completed my undergraduate studies in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, with a primary focus on power and energy. I have always been drawn to the design aspect of engineering. Studying digital design, Computer Architecture, and VLSI here allowed me to expand into new areas and strengthen my core engineering skills. The courses I took here helped me land my internship with Qualcomm as they are industry oriented."
"Department alumni have been very helpful too. Several of them provided guidance even on course selection. They shared information on courses that would help with specific career areas."
What motivates you to excel as a teaching assistant?
"I didn’t have prior experience teaching, but I did things like organizing and facilitating workshops which I really enjoyed. I look at being a TA as an opportunity to support students. I have been in their position trying to learn something new. So I know what would be really helpful to them, what would be the most supportive materials I can provide. One of the things I found to be very useful was documenting everything. We do all the experiments before we actually teach them, but things can deviate in many ways. So I document all the little things that can go wrong or differ in practice. I also actively seek feedback from students who recently took these courses to better support my responsibilities as a TA."
Tell us about your internship and plans after graduation
"I am a physical design intern on Qualcomm’s Nuvia CPU team, working on core CPU development for Snapdragon compute platforms. After graduation, I plan to work in the semiconductor industry, focusing on hardware design and development."
What are your stress busters?
"I engage in hobbies such as watching movies, journaling, and rock climbing to relax. These activities help me manage stress and maintain work-life balance during my master’s program."