Interview With Janet Olson

Nicola Nicolici: Good evening, Janet. Welcome. This is an IEEE Design&Test interview and to start with, I just kind of want to make a very, very short introduction. Janet Olson has been a technology executive with extensive leadership experience in two Fortune 500 semiconductor design automation companies: Cadence Design Systems and Synopsis. Janet delivers high-caliber software enabling the design of complex integrated circuits fabricated using leading semiconductor manufacturing technologies. She works closely with multiple semiconductor companies, including automotive, industrial robotics, and semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Janet has been recognized with the 2017 Marie Pistilli Electronic Design Award awarded annually to a female with outstanding achievements in the EDA industry and the 2016 WCA Tribute to Women Award. Welcome, Janet. So, to get us started, probably you can tell us a bit more about your educational interests while growing up. And how did you become drawn to study electrical and computer engineering?