Prof. Kofi A. A.  Makinwa, a distinguished alumnus of the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, has been recognized as the Top Contributor in the 70-year history of the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), one of the most prestigious conferences in the semiconductor integrated circuit design world. The recognition was awarded to him at the ISSCC 2023 conference, held in San Francisco, USA. Since his first contribution in 2002, Prof. Makinwa and his team have had over 70 papers accepted for presentation at the conference, a remarkable achievement given the conference’s competitive pool of researchers from renowned institutions and organizations such as MIT, Intel, and AMD known for their excellence in the field of microelectronics. This year, his team’s contribution of eight papers represents their best performance at the conference to date.

After obtaining his B.Sc. degree in 1985 and his M.Sc. degree in 1986 from the Obafemi Awolowo University (then University of Ife), Prof. Makinwa went on to earn his M.E.E.E degree from Philips International Institute, Eindhoven, and his Ph.D. from the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands. From 1989 to 1999, he was a research scientist at Philips Research Laboratories, where he designed sensor systems for interactive displays, and analogue front ends for optical and magnetic recording systems. In 1999, he joined the teaching staff of Delft University of Technology, where he is currently an Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Professor of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Engineering and the Head of the Microelectronics Department. His research interests include mixed-signal circuits design, smart sensors, and interfaces, he has over 300 technical articles and 30 patents in these areas. He is a fellow of the IEEE and a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Despite his success in Europe, Prof. Makinwa has maintained close ties with his alma mater. He is an affiliate of the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering OAU and has remotely taught undergraduate classes in recent years. He also mentors undergraduate and graduate students of the department in Microelectronics. In 2017, Prof. Makinwa delivered the inaugural Prof. Lawrence O. Kehinde Honorary Lecture in person, declining the option of remote presentation. The lecture was very well-received and demonstrated his ongoing commitment to supporting and engaging with the department and OAU community.