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“I cannot thank Dr. Jeske enough for her patience with me, her trust in my ability to complete all the requirements, and her encouragement when things did not go as planned. I would never have received this degree if it were not for her guidance and continued support.”

Jin S. Zhang, Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering

At Portland State University’s June 2006 commencement ceremony, the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science graduated its second female Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), an area that has historically been male-dominated.

Jin S. Zhang, under the guidance of advisor and ECE Department Chair, Dr. Malgorzata Chrzanowska-Jeske, began her studies at Portland State in 1994 after receiving a dual undergraduate degree from Tianjin University in English and Electrical Engineering. For most of her studies at Portland State, Jin has juggled the responsibilities of a full-time job and two small children, her youngest being born just one month before graduation. Receiving a Maseeh Fellowship for the last year of her studies allowed Jin to finish her degree without an outside job. “I am very grateful to Dr. Maseeh for the fellowship that allowed me to concentrate on completing my degree,” she said.

When asked why she thought that more women did not pursue graduate degrees in electrical and computer engineering, Jin answered that she thought it was different in China, that women were encouraged to pursue technical and scientific degrees. In Jin’s case, her parents were role models for her, especially her mother. Both of Jin’s parents graduated in chemistry and taught high school in China. Jin’s mother was one of the first women to receive the Chinese National Excellence in Teaching Award.

Jin’s dissertation, Computing Functional Properties and Network Flexibilities for Logic Synthesis and Verification, studied improving computational algorithms for several problems in logic synthesis. She was invited to present her findings at DAC (Design Automation Conference), held July 24-28, 2006 in San Francisco, California. DAC is the premier Electronic Design Automation (EDA) and silicon solution conference in the United States.

Jin’s dissertation committee consisted of her advisor Dr. Malgorzata Chzanowska-Jeske (PSU ECE), and Dr. Cynthia Brown (PSU Computer Science), Dr. Robert Daasch (PSU ECE), Dr. Alan Mishchenko (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; University of California, Berkeley), Dr. Marek Perkowski (PSU ECE), and Dr. Wayne Wakeland (PSU Systems Science).

Jin is anxious to return to the workforce, but wants to balance it with her family, and a small business she runs with a business partner importing Chinese children’s books. The business evolved from a need in the community to provide a good selection of books written in simplified Chinese characters to children aged pre-school through high school in order to maintain their bilingual skills and Chinese heritage. Powell’s Books, in Portland, Oregon, is their major retailer.