Soapbox Science 2021

Soapbox: Did you choose a scientific career or did the scientific career choose you?

Inga Abel: It was kind of both. After my internship at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems in Duisburg, I wanted to do research in the area of design automation for analog circuits. My impression was that there are many open questions. Analog circuits different to digital circuits are mostly designed manually. This I want to change. I would like to automatize the design of analog circuits such that it is on a similar level to the digital design. In digital design, the designer just writes programming code containing the behavior of the function. Based on that, a digital circuit is synthesized.

Luckily, I had to present the outcome of the internship before the professor doing research in the area of analog design automation. With the presentation, I received the entry ticket to the research group.

SB: What was the key moment that brought you to the place where you are today?

IA: Two years after my internship, I was searching for a Bachelor thesis. Thus, I wrote the professor of my internship presentation an email asking if they had any topic evaluable in the research area of analog design automation available. They did and so my career started as a scientist in this research area.

SB: What is your scientific superhero power? Or what superhero would you be?

IA: Endurance. Not all people might appreciate your scientific work. Just keep on going and do not blame yourself and your work. Go one with your research, improve it, and develop arguments why it is still great!

SB: What motivates you to give a talk in Soapbox Science?

IA: In electrical engineering and in particular analog circuit design, there are not many female scientists. I do not really understand why as it is a very interesting subject. Thus, I would like to make it more accessible to the public and encourage women to also get engaged into this subject

IA: Do you have a few words to inspire other women or young scientists?

IA: Just do it. Even you have the feeling that other people have more experience than you with the subject. Your assumption might prove wrong. You will do a great job