Page 106 - Analog Circuit Design Art, Science, and Personalities

Jim Roberge

In another lab exercise. we give the students a commercially available integrated
circuit (I won't divulge the type and manufacturer, but many would qualify) and ask
them to find at least six lies in the data sheet.
We also hand out homework problems on a regular basis. Most of these problems
were developed by the generations of teaching assistants who have been associated
with the course: and generally cover more advanced active-circuit and feedback
concepts than are covered in the undergraduate courses.
The teaching assistant also meets with the group for 1 to 1% hours a week. Some
of the topics discussed are related to the design problems. For example, during the
discussion of sample-and-holds, emitter-follower and buffer-amplifier oscillations
are discussed. (Why does a series base resistor, or an input resistor on a buffer like
the LM 1 10: work?) At times, the teaching assistant gives several talks in an area of
particular expertise, possibly leading to a shorter design problem.
As you gather from this outline, the overall workload in the graduate course is
awesome and probably continues to increase with time as additional teaching assis-
tants make their contributions to the package. Since we always get enough eager
students who do everything we ask of them. we don't plan to ease up!
The true and enduring joy of teaching, of course, comes from the interactions we
have with our students. I havc had the privilege of working with many outstanding
students. I havc had the further pleasure of keeping in reasonably frequent contact
(occasionally professionally and often socially) with many of them after they left
M.l.'T.
You may have sensed by now that I feel the academic endeavors outlined above
havc contributed in an important way to these students' development. There is an
implication that "this is the only way to do it." This feeling of omnipotence is shared
by some members of professions other than teaching: I have seen analog circuit
designers, CEOs, physicians, and investment counscllors, to name a few. who ex-
hibit this failing. There may even be one or two other examples in this book.
The mbiased observer notes an inherent contradiction by observing that many
of the roads to the promised land suggcsted by practitioners in any one area are
orthogonal. In humbler moments, we in education must similarly realize that the
impact we can have on our students is quite limited. Many are so remarkably tal-
ented that they will be very succe ul regardless of what we teach them! However.
we may be able to influence their professional directions through the interest and
enthisiasm we display.

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