Konrad Walus

PhD Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Calgary

It isn’t everyday that a graduate student gets invited to write the definitive textbook in his or her subject. But Konrad Walus isn’t your everyday grad student. A PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Calgary, Walus has taken an innovative approach to an emerging nanoelectronic technology called quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA). QCA is one of several technologies that have the potential to replace classical micro-electronic technology, the foundation of every computer device. 

When his advisor suggested he look at potential uses of QCA technology, Walus took a major leap and created a project on the technology itself. He came up with the novel idea of developing a design tool that could be used to evaluate the technology at the system design level, with the goal of establishing QCA’s potential as a replacement for modern integrated circuit technology. The result was QCADesigner, a computer-aided design (CAD) tool similar to those used for designing integrated circuits, but using QCA technology. This was risky because QCA has not yet been verified as a manufacturable replacement for current technologies. In order to remedy this manufacturing problem, Walus has proposed a novel QCA device that has the potential for being fabricated using standard techniques.

Walus contacted other research groups who were working on QCA technology and made QCADesigner available to them through his web site. The microelectronics group at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, which first developed QCA devices, has resurrected their QCA research program using QCADesigner and are collaborating with Walus on applications of his software. Researchers at other universities, including Southern Methodist University, University of Pisa and Northwestern University, have also used QCADesigner. An undergraduate student at the University of Calgary is working on a QCA project under Walus’ supervision.