Voices of the Provost Solutions Fellows
Ioannis Savidis, PhD
Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
College of Engineering
Ioannis was part of the inaugural cohort of Provost Solutions Fellows, a joint initiative of the Provost’s Office and the Drexel Solutions Institute. He is a researcher of integrated circuits and electronics design and analysis. His current research focuses on translational work in methodologies for high performance, integrated circuits; power management for SoC and microprocessor circuits; hardware security; and electrical and thermal modeling and characterization, signal and power integrity, and power and clock delivery for heterogeneous 2-D and 3-D circuits. He has pursued collaborative research with industrial partners including Lockheed Martin, KBR and Honeywell. Ioannis holds over 15 patents in the areas of integrated circuit security, on-chip power management, and low-power circuit design — including several that protect circuit intellectual property from reverse engineering and theft. Ioannis received the National Science Foundation’s CAREER award in 2018 and Department of Defense’s DURIP award in 2019.
What did you enjoy the most about being a Solutions Fellow and why?
The bimonthly meetings we had were good, especially the interaction with the upper administration. I also really enjoyed meeting the other Fellows, learning about their areas of expertise, and networking with them. One other Fellow is in physics, and we decided to explore a collaboration with our combined expertise. I would not have met him but for being a Fellow.
How likely are you to recommend becoming a Solutions Fellow to a colleague and what is the main reason?
I would definitely recommend it to a colleague if they are interested in directly interacting with industry. There is a mutual benefit for us, the University and industry. The hope is that with that dialogue, they can provide us with problems that we can take back to our units and work on finding solutions.
What do you believe are the top benefits to working with industry partners?
I always try to have partnerships with industry. You can get a glimpse of the problems they are most interested in. Once I know that, I can put students on the problem and send them to internships with those industry partners. A lot of the time, students will do internships and the company will end up providing them with a full-time position.
What are some of the benefits to engaging with partners?
There were meetings with Lockheed Martin that led to the company funding an on-campus technology and innovation incubator. It will provide a space for Drexel faculty and students to collaborate with the company as well as provide learning and research opportunities for Drexel students. I think something like that is great. The department and college benefit and the premise of the program is really good.
How did your students benefit from the courses or research with partners?
From my own interaction, when I introduce my students to partner companies, a lot of times that interaction informs their research and students adjust the direction of their research. It’s beneficial across the board.
Why would you encourage other faculty to work with external partners?
Those industry relationships help in placing students for internships and jobs, inform research and provide a better understanding of the most pressing questions from an industry perspective.