Engineering success

Sheriff Sadiq Batcha selected as a 2022 Alumni Rising ` Runner

By California State University, Bakersfield

February 17^th, 2022

Sheriff Sadiq Batcha is the 2022 Alumni Rising ` Runner for the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering. Each spring during Homecoming Week, the Rising ` Runner program recognizes CSUB alumni of the last 10 years who are already making an impact in their career and community.

California State University, Bakersfield alumnus Dr. Sheriff Sadiq Batcha almost didn’t graduate from the university.

Working as a part-time graphic designer when he first came to CSUB, Dr. Batcha wasn’t sure about what he wanted to do as a career. He considered pursuing graphic design at the university and even thought about quitting school to focus on starting his own business.

However, those plans changed after he began doing research projects under the mentorship of Dr. Saeed Jafarzadeh, associate professor of computer and electrical engineering.

Dr. Batcha said discovering his passion for research at CSUB ultimately led him on the path to his current position at the Intel Corporation as a pre-silicon design quality and reliability engineer. He interned at the company in 2020 before transitioning to a full-time position this January.

Dr. Batcha specializes in semiconductor degradation physics. As a part of his job, he validates and signs off on the designs of Intel's latest microprocessors before they are manufactured.

“For me, it’s a huge accomplishment that I was able to join here full-time,” he said. “I feel like the work I do is rewarding because it turns into a product that millions of people around the world use. I feel like I’m truly having an impact in the industry.”

Dr. Batcha’s engineering journey began by happenstance. During his junior year at CSUB, he noticed a flyer advertising a summer research program involving robotics. He reached out to the professor in charge of the program, Dr. Jafarzadeh, to express interest in signing up.

“It turned out that the program was targeted to freshmen and sophomores,” Dr. Batcha said. “Dr. Jafarzadeh told me I couldn’t join that program but that I could join his lab and be part of some research projects.”

Dr. Batcha worked with the professor on a project comparing the effects of traditional and renewable energy generators on the power grid.

“With traditional generators, you can control how much power they generate whereas with renewable energy, it fluctuates,” he said. “The work we did was in estimating the impact of these fluctuations on the power grid and what happens when a generator is unstable.”

Dr. Batcha said the project was challenging and rewarding at the same time. He particularly enjoyed being able to get hands-on experience outside of the classroom.

“As an undergrad, you don’t really get a lot of exposure to the cutting edge of any of the fields you study, but working with this, it felt like I was actively contributing to the knowledge base in that area,” he said.

Dr. Batcha said his experience with the project, as well as a course he took on designing circuits, led him to pursue computer engineering as a degree at CSUB. After graduating in 2016, he went on to earn a master’s degree in electrical engineering in 2018 and then his doctorate in 2021, both from University of California, Riverside.

“The background I got in research and coursework at CSUB definitely gave me the motivation and the information I needed to pursue grad school,” he said. I don’t think I would be where I am today without the motivation and help that I got from [Dr. Jafarzadeh].”

Dr. Jafarzadeh said he learned a lot from working with Dr. Batcha as well.

“Sheriff has been a great student and a very successful alumnus,” Dr. Jafarzadeh said. “His work has always been impressive. I witness a CSUB student rising to great heights, and I always felt proud of his success. It has been a delightful experience mentoring him.”

Dr. Batcha said he loved his whole experience at CSUB and encourages students to pursue research opportunities on campus when possible.

“I think students should definitely take advantage of that to figure out what’s interesting to them,” he said. “Try to get in touch with a professor teaching the subject you’re interested in and see if you can get some exposure through research. It will really open your eyes to the possibilities you can pursue as a career.”