Vinod believes innovation is a natural process where new ideas are generated from solving problems. His father was a marine engineer who often “tinkered around” with electronics. Through Vinod’s eyes as a child, it looked like magic when circuitry would turn items on and off, and Vinod decided at a young age that he wanted to “play with magic”. Still to this day, working on IC solutions does not feel like work to him, and Vinod even has his own home “lab,” complete with an oscilloscope.

Currently working on a low power microcontroller, Vinod is developing a proof of concept to reduce SRAM memory power and increase its performance at the same time. Exploring low power SRAM involves operating the memory in an unconventional way and exploring new semiconductor components and new ways of building intellectual property (IP). This way of thinking is not new for Vinod. He prefers not to get boxed in by traditional “do’s and don’ts” of problem solving and calls them artificial domains. 

Vinod cautions that because semiconductor designs have become more complex over the years, small changes can disrupt the system. He explains that to understand the implications of changes, you have to touch multiple areas beyond your comfort zone and expertise. Solving problems in isolation is difficult, which is why his favorite aspect about working at TI is the access he has to experts in other fields.

Vinod regularly finds innovative ideas in unexpected places. For example, a book on code breaking gave him an idea to apply the same concept to an IC system, which solved a problem his team had been struggling with for weeks. He looks for opportunities to “play with magic” every day.