Cathy Chen, Ph.D., P.E.
Managing Engineer at Exponent
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Dr. Chen has a background in electrical and computer engineering, with a focus on computer architecture, embedded systems, and optical networks. Her expertise includes: multicore systems, pipeline processors, optical interconnection networks (photonic networks), memory systems, and the development of network interfaces on field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).
Dr. Chen completed her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Columbia University in the Lightwave Research Laboratory. Her research focused on the development of FPGA-based test-beds for analyzing photonic networks for applications including: telecommunications, data centers, and heterogeneous utility computing systems. This involved routing and switching in photonic networks, particularly transparent interfaces to electronic communications and designing switching nodes with minimal optical-electronic-optical conversions (OEO). During her time at Columbia University, Dr. Chen was also a teaching assistant for courses in Embedded Systems, Computer Hardware Design, and Fundamentals of Computer Systems.
Prior to her Ph.D. studies, Dr. Chen received her B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University with a focus on computer architecture. During this time she worked in the Computer Systems Laboratory on simulations of cache coherence protocols in embedded systems.
Dr. Chen was also a project management intern at the Microsoft Corporation where she developed diagnostic tools and ran usability studies for operating systems. During this time she also assisted in drafting technical documentation for use by outside software and hardware manufacturers in diagnosing issues when interfacing to computer operating systems.
Dr. Chen completed her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Columbia University in the Lightwave Research Laboratory. Her research focused on the development of FPGA-based test-beds for analyzing photonic networks for applications including: telecommunications, data centers, and heterogeneous utility computing systems. This involved routing and switching in photonic networks, particularly transparent interfaces to electronic communications and designing switching nodes with minimal optical-electronic-optical conversions (OEO). During her time at Columbia University, Dr. Chen was also a teaching assistant for courses in Embedded Systems, Computer Hardware Design, and Fundamentals of Computer Systems.
Prior to her Ph.D. studies, Dr. Chen received her B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University with a focus on computer architecture. During this time she worked in the Computer Systems Laboratory on simulations of cache coherence protocols in embedded systems.
Dr. Chen was also a project management intern at the Microsoft Corporation where she developed diagnostic tools and ran usability studies for operating systems. During this time she also assisted in drafting technical documentation for use by outside software and hardware manufacturers in diagnosing issues when interfacing to computer operating systems.
CREDENTIALS & PROFESSIONAL HONORS
- Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, 2015
- M.Phil., Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, 2013
- M.S., Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, 2011
- B.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, 2009
PUBLICATIONS
Chen, C. The power grid: Smart, secure, green and reliable. Chapters 9 and 10, D’Andrade B (ed), Woodhead Publishing, 2017.
Chen C, An Inside Look at the Inaugural IEEE USA Future Leaders Forum. IEEE New York Monitor, Vol. 63. No. 7, September 2016.
Chen C. Photonic Interconnection Systems for Applications in Herogeneous Utility Computing Systems. Columbia University Academic Commons, May 2015.
Chen C, Chan J, Wang H, Bergman K. A photonic interconnection network for hardware accelerator enabled utility computing. Optical Interconnects Conference 2013 WA2, May 2013.
Wang H, Chen C, Sripanidkulchai K, Sahu S, Bergman K. Dynamically reconfigurable photonic resources for optically connected data center networks. National Fiber Optic Engineering Conference (NFOEC) I1B.2, March 2012.
Garg AS, Wang H, Chen C, Bergman K. Experimental demonstration of attenuation-based all optical time-to-live indicator. European Conference and Exhibition on Optical Communication (ECOC), September 2011.
Wang MS, Wang A, Bathula BG, Lai CP, Baldine I, Chen C, Majumder D, Gurkan D, Rouskas G, Dutta R, Bergman K. Demonstration of QoS-aware video streaming over a metro- scale optical network using a cross-layer architectural design. National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (NFOEC) NThC4, March 2011.
Chen, C. The power grid: Smart, secure, green and reliable. Chapters 9 and 10, D’Andrade B (ed), Woodhead Publishing, 2017.
Chen C, An Inside Look at the Inaugural IEEE USA Future Leaders Forum. IEEE New York Monitor, Vol. 63. No. 7, September 2016.
Chen C. Photonic Interconnection Systems for Applications in Herogeneous Utility Computing Systems. Columbia University Academic Commons, May 2015.
Chen C, Chan J, Wang H, Bergman K. A photonic interconnection network for hardware accelerator enabled utility computing. Optical Interconnects Conference 2013 WA2, May 2013.
Wang H, Chen C, Sripanidkulchai K, Sahu S, Bergman K. Dynamically reconfigurable photonic resources for optically connected data center networks. National Fiber Optic Engineering Conference (NFOEC) I1B.2, March 2012.
Garg AS, Wang H, Chen C, Bergman K. Experimental demonstration of attenuation-based all optical time-to-live indicator. European Conference and Exhibition on Optical Communication (ECOC), September 2011.
Wang MS, Wang A, Bathula BG, Lai CP, Baldine I, Chen C, Majumder D, Gurkan D, Rouskas G, Dutta R, Bergman K. Demonstration of QoS-aware video streaming over a metro- scale optical network using a cross-layer architectural design. National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (NFOEC) NThC4, March 2011.