Thanh Tran

Thanh Tran is a Professor in the Practice in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University. He also serves as a Senior Principal SI/PI Engineer at Raytheon Technologies and has held senior roles at Dell Technologies, Compaq, Halliburton, and Texas Instruments. His career includes founding four technology startups, one rooted in his doctoral research on spread spectrum clock distribution.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, University of Houston (2001)
• M.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of Houston (1995)
• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1984)

Research Interests: Focuses on high-speed interconnect systems, video/audio systems, downhole telemetry for oil and gas, and light-based hearing aids. His work spans mixed analog/digital ASICs, fiber optic communication, and virtual reality technologies. He has pioneered innovations in power management and computer gaming/audio systems.

Awards & Recognition:

• 2022 SASE Career Achievement Award
• Multiple Raytheon Innovators & Achievement Awards (2020–2021)
• Excellent@Dell Bronze Award (2018)
• Halliburton MVP Award (2014)
• University of Houston Entrepreneur/Innovation Award (2010)
• Texas Instruments Patent Hall of Fame

Industry Contributions: Holds 40 granted patents across high-speed systems, telemetry, and ASICs. Active in industry leadership roles and has authored two books and over 24 technical papers.