Ihfaz I.

About Ihfaz I.

Mr. Ihfaz Islam graduated from Wayne State University’s James & Patricia Anderson College of Engineering in Detroit, Michigan in August 2025 with a B.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), graduating with Honors (Cum Laude).During his undergraduate studies, he conducted research in RISC-V computer architecture and VLSI chip design, presenting his work at national engineering conferences. He has published multiple academic papers in journals and conference proceedings and authored two laboratory manuals on digital chip design. His technical interests include automotive engineering and technology including scaling safe state-of-the-art, cutting-edge electric and autonomous vehicles, digital and mixed-signal VLSI design, FPGA/ASIC development, open-source silicon, and hardware acceleration for artificial intelligence and machine learning.As a Hardware Engineer on the SoC, Memory & Advanced Silicon Semiconductors team at General Motors, he contributed to the design, development, and validation of GM’s next generation Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV 2.0) electrical architecture. He also worked as an Electrical Test Systems Engineer at GM, contributing to vehicle safety, crash testing, and validation systems. He currently works as a Software Test Systems Engineer on the Computer-Aided Test (CAT) team, developing GM’s internal testing applications at the Milford Proving Grounds, the world’s largest automotive proving ground.Mr. Islam is passionate about advancing AI-accelerated hardware and next-generation computing systems. He is actively pursuing graduate programs (M.Sc. or M.Eng.) in Computer Engineering focused on AI/ML hardware systems and chip design. With a strong commitment to research, innovation, and mentorship, he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in this field and contribute to advancements in both industry and academia.

Experience

1. Lead Graduate Teaching Assistant

   Wayne State University College Of Engineering

   Sep 2024 — Present · Detroit, MI, US

   Graduate Level Courses:ECE 5680 - Computer-Aided Logical Design & FPGAsCourse focusing on designing digital systems using Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and related computer-aided tools. Topics include hardware description languages (HDLs), synthesis, simulation, and implementation for digital circuits, essential for modern embedded systems and Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) design. ECE 5960 - Introduction to VLSI SystemsCourse on a very large scale integrated circuit component and design procedures. MOS fabrication, MOS gates, circuit architecture, device design, manufacturing and interface techniques.ECE 7530 - Advanced Digital VLSI DesignCourse covering digital integrated circuit (IC) design, focusing on Verilog. The content involves advanced topics in VLSI design.Instructor: Dr. Harpreet SinghIntroduced SystemVerilog RTL design, including Universal Verification Method (UVM) for writing concise, reusable, and modular test benches. Introduced EDA Playground, a web-based software for prototyping simulations using diverse compilers from Xilinx, Cadence, Synopsys, and more.Introduced a new procedure for designing chips using an open-source and significantly low-cost ASIC design tool, TinyTapeout, saving the ECE department and faculty more than in getting chips fabricated for students, classes, and research. This is a cheaper alternative to get designs from pre-silicon development and testing to post-silicon testing and validation with a physical chip in hand.Lead grading efforts for all assignments, labs, projects, and exams alongside Dr. Singh.

Education

• Wayne State University

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) Honors