Technical Seminar with Scott Rubel

Abstract: Most people change jobs every 5-7 years. This talk will
look back on a career that somehow did that while remaining at
(almost) the same company. Early technical roles rarely relate
directly to academic training, but a physics background nevertheless
provides a ready toolbox (key physics concepts, mathematical
modeling, abstract reasoning) that companies find extremely
valuable. We'll review how those played out, and then how early
projects ultimately led to a technical management role. Here the
challenges are different in many ways (people skills, organizational
structure, business metrics), yet the same analytical toolkit remains
useful (and regrettably uncommon). The latter part of the talk will
focus on what that transition means for the job role, how to manage
it, and a few personal thoughts on how to succeed.

Bio: Scott Rubel received his BA in Physics from Cornell U. and
his PhD in experimental solid state physics under Alex de
Lozanne in 1997. He has not touched a vacuum flange or
turbo pump since. He spent the next 27 years working in the
semiconductor industry as a Technical Director at Motorola,
Freescale Semiconductor, and finally NXP Semiconductor—
all essentially the same company. His role
varied from wafer factory device engineering to leading
AI/ML implementation strategy. He retired last year, and
continues to call Austin home. When he is at home and not
walking Dallas he enjoys hitting the gym, walking the
(grumpy) dog, entertaining friends, and pointing out to
visitors all the buildings downtown that weren't there five
years ago. Following this lecture he plans to take a nap.