Azadeh Davoodi

Azadeh Davoodi is a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor and Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on Electronic Design Automation (EDA), integrated circuit debug, and machine learning applications in VLSI design. She holds editorial roles in journals like IEEE TCAD and ACM TRETS, and has chaired major conferences such as ISPD 2015 and served on technical program committees for DAC, ICCAD, and others.

Education:

• PhD in Electrical Engineering, University of Maryland-College Park (2006)

Research Interests:

• Machine learning for VLSI chip design
• VLSI design automation for machine learning
• IC-CAD for emerging nanotechnologies
• Hardware security

Recent Research Trends: Her work bridges machine learning and hardware design, with publications on neural network optimization, distributed inference, and explainable AI for circuit design. She emphasizes energy-efficient CNNs, latency reduction in edge computing, and security in split manufacturing.

Awards:

• 2025 DATE Best Paper Candidate
• 2024 Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor
• 2015 ACM Best Paper Award
• 2011 NSF CAREER Award

Service and Grants: Leads NSF-funded projects on explainable ML for CAD and holds grants for distributed neural network synthesis. Her service includes roles as IEEE HKN member and editorial board positions.

Labs/Teams: Engages in interdisciplinary research teams at UW-Madison, focusing on EDA innovation and hardware-software co-design.