WiCAS

About WiCAS

The WiCAS events traditionally aim to inspire and motivate students and young professionals in the domain of circuits and systems to have efficient roles in their professions by meeting successful female engineers and professors and giving interesting technical and professional talks in fields of interest of CASS.

A WiCAS event is a free initiative aiming to:

• Inspire and motivate both students and young professionals in the domain of circuits and systems to have efficient roles in their professions by meeting successful female engineers and professors;
• Enrich the audience's knowledge through interesting technical talks in fields of interest of CASS;
• Introduce the WiCAS community and its role, and motivate female researchers/scientists to be active members in conferences, events, and workshops, providing guidance and support.

WiCAS events are open and welcome everyone, including scientists, technologists, engineers, scholars, and practitioners, with no limitation on gender.

More information can be obtained at: IEEE CAS Women in CAS (WiCAS)

Program

The Women in Engineering Panel (WiCAS) brings together leading female professionals and researchers to discuss opportunities, challenges, and innovations in the engineering field. Organized by Barbara Souza from Cadence and Professor Fernanda Kastensmidt from UFRGS, the panel features accomplished panelists representing industry and academia. Iole Moccagatta from Intel brings her extensive experience in semiconductor design and engineering leadership, sharing insights on navigating technical careers in global technology companies. Mariana Siniscalchi, from the Universidad de la República (UdelaR), provides a perspective on academic research and engineering education, highlighting pathways for female engineers in higher education and research initiatives. Jiovana Gomes, a PhD student at UFRGS, contributes her viewpoint on emerging research topics and the challenges faced by young female researchers in advanced studies, particularly in the field of digital systems and hardware design. Edelweis Ritt from CEITEC offers her expertise in engineering and industry practices, focusing on the realities of working in technology-focused public companies and the importance of gender diversity in fostering innovation. Together, these panelists provide a rich dialogue on career development, mentorship, and strategies to empower women in engineering. This panel not only highlights the achievements of women in engineering but also aims to inspire future generations by promoting inclusivity and collaboration in technical fields. The WiCAS will happen on February 27th and the general schedule is below:

• 17:30 – 18:30 – Presentation of panelists and social dynamics
• 18:30 – 19:00 – Q&A
• 19:00 – 21:00 – Cocktail

Moderators

Name	Short Bio
Barbara de Souza (Cadence, Brazil)	Barbara is an analog/mixed-signal IC designer with an electrical engineering degree from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, with almost seven years experience in IC and SiP design, electronic instrumentation, test automation, and custom IC tools support. Currently working in the EDA universe as an application engineer at Cadence Design Systems.
Fernanda Kastensmidt (UFRGS, Brazil)	Fernanda Lima Kastensmidt holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (1997), a Master's in Computer Science from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (1999) and a PhD in Computer Science from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (2003). Fernanda is a Full Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and she was Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Microelectronics (PGMICRO) for 4 years and was head of the Department of Applied Informatics for 2 years. She has experience in the area of Microelectronics and Computer Engineering, with an emphasis on Hardware, working on radiation fault protection techniques, fault-tolerant system design, programmable architecture, FPGA, and more.

Panelists

Name	Short Bio
Edelweis Ritt (CEITEC, Brazil)	With over 20 years of experience in the electronics and semiconductor industry, I am passionate about technology and innovation. I am the Strategic Alliances and IOT Business Development Officer at HT Micron, a leading company in designing and producing integrated circuits and solutions for IOT applications. My core competencies include new business development, hardware design, analog and digital systems, power electronics, and IOT security. I have been involved in multiple projects that add intelligence to "things", help people and businesses become more efficient, and accelerate the future. I also love miniaturizing and integrating functionality, so electronics can be where we want them. I am always eager to learn new skills and explore new opportunities in the fast-changing world of technology.
Iole Moccagatta (Intel, United States)	Iole Moccagatta is a Senior Principal Engineer at Intel working on HW Multimedia accelerators and IPs integrated on Intel platforms and products. Iole is an active member of MPEG and ITU-T, Chair of the MPEG/ITU-T Joint Video Experts Team (JVET) Ad-Hoc Group on Conformance and co-editor of the H.266/VVC Conformance Testing specification. She has also contributed to the Alliance for Open Media (AOM) AV1 Codec WG, and currently represents Intel in the AOM Steering Committee. She is an active member of IEEE, serving as SPS Members-at-Large and as member of the SPS Industry Technical WG, the IEEE Fourier Award for Signal Processing Committee, the SPS Technical Committee Review Committee, the SPS Membership Development Committee, and as Chair of the SPS Industry Outreach and Engagement Subcommittee. Iole is the author or co-author of more than 30 publications, 2 book chapters, and more than 10 talks and tutorials in the field of image and video coding. She holds more than 10 patents in the same fields. For more details see Dr. Moccagatta professional site at http://alfiole.users.sonic.net/iole/. Iole received a Diploma of Electronic Engineering from the University of Pavia, Italy, and a PhD from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Jiovana Gomes (UFRGS, Brazil)	Jiovana Sousa Gomes is a Ph.D. student in the Microelectronics Program at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). She earned her B.E. in Computer engineering from the Federal University of Pampa (2022), graduating with honors (cum laude). During her undergraduate studies, she developed hardware accelerators for the arithmetic decoder of the AV1 video codec, publishing five papers on the subject. In her Ph.D, Jiovana focuses on neural network compression and neural video coding, specifically targeting the entropy encoding process.
Mariana Siniscalchi (UdelaR, Uruguay)	Mariana Siniscalchi received her Electrical Engineering and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering degrees from the Universidad de la República, Uruguay, in 2014 and 2020, respectively. She has been involved in numerous research and development projects, specializing in hardware design across various levels, including transistor, integrated circuit (IC), printed circuit board (PCB), and system-level design. She led a multidisciplinary team in developing two commercial products, overseeing hardware, firmware, and software implementations. She is currently an Associate Professor at the Instituto de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Universidad de la República, Uruguay. She is also a member of Uruguay’s National Researchers System and serves as the Chair of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society (CASS) Uruguay Chapter. Her research interests include energy harvesting circuits for ultra-low voltage applications, ultra-low voltage and RF oscillators, and other circuits designed for the Internet of Things (IoT).