Center for Integrated Circuits and Systems (CICS)

The Center for Integrated Circuits and Systems (CICS) at MIT, established in early 1998, is an industrial consor- tium created to promote new research initiatives in cir- cuits and systems design, as well as to promote a tight- er technical relationship between MIT’s research and relevant industry. Eight faculty members participate in the CICS: Director Hae-Seung Lee, Duane S. Boning, Anantha Chandrakasan, Ruonan Han, David Perreault, Max Shulaker, Charles Sodini, and Vivienne Sze.

CICS investigates a wide range of circuits and systems, including wireless and wireline communication, high-speed, THz, and RF circuits, microsensor/actuator systems, imagers, digital and analog signal processing circuits, biomedical circuits, deep learning systems, emerging technologies, and power conversion circuits, among others.

We strongly believe in the synergistic relationship between industry and academia, especially in practical research areas of integrated circuits and systems. CICS is designed to be the conduit for such synergy.

CICS’s research portfolio includes all research projects that the eight participating faculty members conduct, regardless of source(s) of funding, with a few exceptions.

Technical interaction between industry and MIT researchers occurs on both a broad and individual level. Since its inception, CICS recognized the importance of holding technical meetings to facilitate communication among MIT faculty, students, and industry. We hold two informal technical meetings per year open to CICS faculty, students, and representatives from participating companies. Throughout each full-day meeting, faculty and students present their research, often presenting early concepts, designs, and results that have not been published yet. The participants then offer valuable technical feedback, as well as suggestions for future research. More intimate interaction between MIT researchers and industry takes place during work on projects of particular interest to participating companies. Companies may invite students to give on-site presentations, or they may offer students summer employment. Additionally, companies may send visiting scholars to MIT or enter into a separate research contract for more focused research for their particular interest. The result is truly synergistic, and it will have a lasting impact on the field of integrated circuits and systems.