Dr. Ken Mai

Professor

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Biography

Ken Mai received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He is currently a Principal Systems Scientist in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. His research interests include high-performance circuit design, secure IC design, radiation hardening design, reconfigurable computing, and computer architecture. Ken has received multiple awards including the NSF CAREER award, the George Tallman Ladd Research Award, and the Eta Kappa Nu Excellence in Teaching Award. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and IEEE. His key research focus involves the adaptation and reinvention of circuit designs to circumvent technology constraints, addressing challenges such as interconnect delay, device leakage, and device mismatch while targeting emerging applications like sensor networks and computational biology. Ken is particularly interested in developing efficient, high-performance digital blocks for future technologies and creating tools to export VLSI-level design information to architectural-level design.

Research Interests

Experience

Principal Systems Scientist

— Present

Carnegie Mellon University • Pittsburgh, PA

Work in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering focusing on circuit design and related research.

Awards

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NSF CAREER Award

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George Tallman Ladd Research Award

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Eta Kappa Nu Excellence in Teaching Award

Requirements for Carnegie Mellon University

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.5
GRE General
Verbal
Required:158
Quantitative
Required:149
Analytical Writing
Required:4
Overall
Required:4
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree in Psychology or related field Research experience/publications
Application Checklist
  • Online application
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Transcripts
  • GRE scores (optional but reported in profile)
  • English Proficiency (TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo)
Specialization Notes

Admission is extremely competitive with no strict GPA cut-offs; holistic review is used.