Misha Burich

College of Science and Engineering, November 6, 2014

Misha Burich received a master’s degree (1975) and a Ph.D. (1978) in electrical engineering from the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota. For thirty years he led and managed engineering teams in innovation and development of leading EDA software and semiconductor chips, including Altera’s Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), a type of logic chip that can be programmed to change its function in the field. FPGAs are used in ultra-high-performance systems for the military, wired and wireless communications, high-end broadcast equipment, and computer and storage applications, and are now facilitating the development of cloud computing applications. He is the co-founder of two companies - Silicon Design Labs and Instinct. Burich held leadership positions with Cadence’s Alta Group and Altera Corporation. Burich was made chief technology officer at Altera until his retirement in 2013. He is credited with helping to grow the careers of many successful technical leaders at Altera, and as a champion of innovation and new ideas.