Auburn Engineering faculty members named Godbold Chairs
Published: Nov 4, 2020 4:09 PM
By Alyssa Turner
Fa Foster Dai and Adit Singh, electrical and computer engineering professors, have been named Bryghte D. and Patricia M. Godbold Chairs.
“Fa and Adit are excellent scholars dedicated to their students and research,” department chair Mark Nelms said. “I believe this endowment will bolster their current academic endeavors and provide them with the tools for even greater achievements on behalf of Auburn and the College of Engineering.”
An Auburn faculty member since 2002, Dai conducts research in the areas of analog, mixed-signal and RF circuit designs, integrated circuits for communication system blocks and data-converters.
Dai received a doctorate degree in electrical and computer engineering from Auburn University and an accompanying electrical engineering doctoral degree from Pennsylvania State University. He previously worked for Hughes Electronics, YAFO Networks and Cognio Inc. in the area of integrated circuit designs.
Dai has served on the editorial board for the technical journals IEEE Journal on Solid-State Circuits and IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. In 2009, he received the Faculty Research Award from Auburn University and was elected an IEEE fellow for his research contribution of high-speed frequency synthesis and radio frequency integrated circuits. Dai has also served on the Technical Program Committee and the steering committee for several international conferences. He currently serves as the 2021 general chair of the IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference board.
When asked about his professional accomplishments, Dai notes his ultimate achievement is watching his students succeed. He plans to use this endowment to continue to support students in their engineering endeavors.
“This endowment inspires me to devote my full energy and passion to the education of our students. My goal is to advance Auburn’s reputation as an institute of excellence and inspire my students the same way the Godbold family inspires me,” Dai said.
Similar to Dai, Singh said the Godbold Chair will contribute to his success as a teacher and mentor and further his dedication to the betterment of his students.
Singh, a life fellow of IEEE, specializes in integrated circuit design and test. His work focuses on the challenge of ensuring the reliability of electronic hardware that supports computing and communication systems.
He received his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and his doctorate from Virginia Tech.
Singh’s academic career has taken him around the world. He served as a visiting professor at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg in Germany and the University of Tokyo in Japan. Additionally, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Spain. He has also previously served on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts and Virginia Tech.
Since joining Auburn in 1991, Singh served two terms as chair of the IEEE Test Technology Technical Council and a term on the Board of Governors of the IEEE Council on Design Automation.
Singh will use the funds from the professorship to enhance the learning environment for Auburn’s exceptional students in electrical and computer engineering.
“I am honored and delighted to have been selected to serve as a Godbold Chair,” Singh said. “Our outstanding students serve as our ambassadors to the world and help build Auburn’s brand and academic reputation.”
Singh’s use of the endowed funds aligns with the vision Bryghte and Patricia Godbold shared for the position they established.
Bryghte Godbold, a 1936 electrical engineering graduate of Auburn University and member of the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame, and his wife, Patricia, established the endowment to strengthen the disciplines of teaching and research in electrical engineering. The distinguished title is awarded to faculty members who show a commitment to student instruction and a dedication to quality research.
Both Dai and Singh will serve their term as Godbold Chairs for five years.
Media Contact: , chris.anthony@auburn.edu, 334.844.3447
Adit Singh (left) and Fa Foster Dai
