1 September 2006             Resume -- Chuck Hastings         cwh2@earthlink.net 

• PROFILE

  • Have worked as a technical writer, a high-tech marketing manager, a computer hardware designer and project manager, a machine-level programmer, and a semiconductor applications engineer. Strong creativity, versatile technical background, and good presentation skills. Three degrees: Physics, Math, Marketing.

  • Quick learner. Proven ability at explaining complex devices and systems in a down-to-earth way; at innovative new-product definition, strategic forecasts, and market research; and at computer hardware development and R&D. Two U.S. Patents as sole inventor.

    
    

• WRITING SKILLS

  • A writer, from childhood on. Writing has been a part of many work assignments, regardless of job title and other responsibilities. Have written marketing collaterals and letters, white papers, press releases, semiconductor specifications and datasheets, programming manuals, strategic business plans and prospectuses, proposals, patent applications, technical and market research articles and reports, seminar-companion and training handbooks, recruitment advertisement copy, and a web-based manual for an enterprise-security-software system. Writer on business topics as well as on technical topics. And, after hours, three novels; two are now published, and another one is completed and awaiting publication.

  • A careful and sharp-eyed proofreader and editor. Adept at using Firefox and Google to find things out. Will work solo or within a group; onsite or remotely; as an employee or as a contractor. Skilled at forming English drafts by native speakers of other languages into graceful and readable English.

  • Have used Adobe FrameMaker, Acrobat, and PageMaker; also Visio, RoboHELP, several generations of Microsoft Word, Open Office, LyX (for LaTeX), Nvu (for HTML text), and other word processors. Have run seven generations of Windows; some exposure to UNIX and Linux.

  • Always interested in developing new skills, and in learning to use new tools.

  
  

• HIGH-TECH EXPERIENCE

  • Have worked with and/or written/edited material about microprocessors, fixed logic, VLSI FPGAs, PLDs, ASICs, FIFOs, other semiconductor memories, nonvolatile analog MOSFET circuits, bipolar circuit-design methodology, automated layout-shrink methodology, nanoscale semiconductor fabrication and energy efficiency, and bus-interface circuits. Also large-scale computers and peripherals, enterprise software, GHz Automatic Test Equipment (ATE), digital telephony central-office architecture, and electro-optic technology.

  • Seasoned in semiconductor, computer systems, telecommunications, and aerospace businesses. Have worked both as a permanent company employee and as a short-term contractor; most recently in Washington State and Oregon, and around Silicon Valley. Have a well-equipped home office, for telecommuting as needed.

  • Proficient logic designer, computer/VLSI architect, and microcoder. Study of C, Verilog, VLSI design, EDA, test engineering, verification, video engineering, computer security, and semiconductor processing.

  
  

• MARKETING, MANAGEMENT, AND TRAINING

  • Have achieved major increases in product-line market share. Have been effective at recruiting, managing, and developing professionals. Put together and taught a one-semester digital-logic EE graduate course at California State U at San Jose.

  
  

• EDUCATION

  • MBA in Marketing, Santa Clara U; MA in Math, UCLA; and BA in Physics/Math, Grinnell College. Certificate in VLSI Design Engineering, EDA emphasis, UC Santa Cruz. Many other EE graduate courses, U of Minnesota. Professional courses in EE and creative writing, UC Santa Cruz Extension. Also, seminars and conferences. Language background in Spanish, German, and Japanese. Real-estate license (inactive) in Washington State.

  
  

• SUPPLEMENTARY SUPPORTING FILES

  • Experience -- included here.

  • Track Record of Accomplishments -- included here.

  • Details of Recent Contract Work -- available upon request.

  • Writing Samples -- available upon request.

  
  

• EXPERIENCE

  • dba Vintage Silicon Logic --- Silicon Valley, CA; Federal Way, WA; metro Portland, OR. 1970s, 1989-91, 1993-2000, and 2002-present.
    Consulting services: technical writing and editing, digital architecture, applications engineering, and technical/strategic marketing.
    Proprietor/Consultant.
    Technical Writer, high-tech industry. Recent clients have included a successful Stanford EE Ph.D. candidate, another current Stanford EE Ph.D. candidate, INONI Ltd., QuickSilver Technology, LitePoint, Guide Technology, TreeLogic Software Engineering, Impinj, MobileWise, and Lindener Associates.
    Marketing consultant, IC industry. Full-time contractor at Actel for twenty months, developing two FPGA architectural specs/tutorials; since then at Intel SWCD, Flextronics/Dii/Orbit, Broadcom, Intel Fab 15, and DynaChip. Other clients have included Advanced Hardware Architectures, AMD, Aptos Semiconductor, Atmel, iCube, IDT, Philips (Signetics}, Sagantec, and Sharp. Wrote/critiqued engineering specs, datasheets, technical application notes, marketing collateral documents, training manuals, and strategic and business plans. Performed field market research and technical-literature research.

  • QuickSilver Technology --- Seattle, WA and San Jose, CA. 2/2002 to 4/2002.
    Single-chip multicomputer systems.
    Member of the Technical Staff.
    Prepared documentation on the architecture of the on-chip communications network, comprising one very large datasheet and including a separate major section for each distinct type of microprocessor or other active entity. (Some of this was during a second assignment as a contractor to QuickSilver.)
    

  • Transmeta Corporation --- Santa Clara, CA. 4/2001 to 10/2001.
    Microprocessors which emulate the Intel x86 microprocessor series, but require far less power and dissipate far less heat.
    MTS/Engineering Writer.
    Prepared internal reference material describing complex features of Transmeta's 'Crusoe' microprocessors, for the use of firmware engineers microprogramming their 'code-morphing' firmware. This material comprised five chapters. Also put together the outline for this microprogramming manual, and negotiated its acceptance by Transmeta's development engineers.

  • inSilicon Corporation --- San Jose, CA. 12/2000-3/2001.
    Semiconductor intellectual property -- cores -- written in the Verilog hardware design language.
    Documentation Engineer.
    Prepared documentation on test procedures for an inSilicon JAVA-accelerator core. Put together a set of references for industry-standard bus specifications.

  • TriStrata Inc. --- Redwood Shores, CA. 7/2000 to 12/2000.
    Computer-security hardware-software systems.
    Technical Writer.
    Prepared tutorial and collateral documentation, including webhelp, on complex TriStrata software. Tested new features, and obtained screenshots to go along with the text describing them.

  • Sharp Microelectronics Technology, Inc. --- Camas, WA. 1991-93.
    Broad-line supplier of integrated circuits, selling in North America, Europe, and Japan.
    Marketing Manager, FIFO and Specialty Memory.
    Defined marketing strategy and new products, and handled applications engineering, for First-In, First-Out (FIFO) specialty-memory product line. Wrote technical articles; presented them as conference papers. Was a contractor at Sharp both before and after being a Sharp employee.

  • Computer Circuit Laboratories, Inc. --- Spokane, WA. 1988.
    Technology development and licensing, of unique bipolar-integrated-circuit design approach.
    Marketing and Applications Manager.
    Handled all marketing; also, technical recruiting. Wrote technical and marcom material promoting licensable company technology. Implemented multipronged direct-mail advertising campaign to attract customers. Presented seminars. Found the company an engineering director and a CAD manager.

  • Fairchild Semiconductor --- Puyallup, WA. 1985-87.
    New startup division of major broad-line worldwide integrated-circuit supplier.
    Senior Staff Applications Engineer.
    New-product planning, applications engineering, and technical support for medium- and large-scale-integration emitter-coupled-logic products and proposed CMOS specialty-memory products. Supervised applications laboratory.

  • Monolithic Memories Inc. --- Santa Clara, CA. 1980-85.
    Major broad-line worldwide integrated-circuit supplier.
    Product Planning and Applications Manager for Logic.
    Managed group performing new-product planning, applications engineering, and technical support for arithmetic, interface, and memory-related products. Established and supervised applications laboratory.

  
  

• EDUCATION AND OTHER EXPERIENCE

  • MBA, Marketing, Santa Clara University.
  • MA, Math/Engineering, UCLA.
  • BA, Physics/Math, Grinnell College.
  • EE/Computer Science graduate study, University of Minnesota.
  • Technical Staff Engineer (many years).
  • On-site courses, Honeywell and CDC.
  • Certificate in VLSI Design Engineering, EDA emphasis, University of California at Santa Cruz Extension.
  • Extensive seminars and self-study on creative writing, and on the use of authoring and illustrating tools.

  
  

• TRACK RECORD OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • Technical Writing and Editing
    
    
    • Copy-edited an entire Ph.D. dissertation on leading-edge nanoscale semiconductor fabrication technology.
    • Created website content for a new nutritional supplement.
    • Converted a computer-security-system manual from FrameMaker to RoboHELP HTML.
    • Prepared internal reference documents about a complex microprocessor featuring dynamic code translation, for use by system firmware engineers. Prepared a customer datasheet covering all major aspects of a single chip incorporating eleven computers.
    • Prepared the first full-length technical description of a cable-interfacing video-processing reference design, and a brief manual on the use of modeling software for an ultra-high-speed bus driver/receiver.
    • Created a computerized instruction-set-level programming manual for a 32-bit minicomputer family with multiple database-program sort keys, compiling specialized editions automatically.
    • Completed three marketable novels about human relationships in high-tech industry, helping to educate the public about Silicon Valley and to bridge the gap between technology-world folks and lay people. Two are in print at a major Print-On-Demand publishing house, and are available through Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Borders, and eCampus and other web-based booksellers. A third one has now reached the final stage of copy-editing the galleys.
    
    
    

  • High-Tech Marketing/Management
    
    
    • Managed logic-integrated-circuit product planning/applications department of 6-10 professonals, increasing worldwide sales in five years from $14M to $40M. Defined and supported 20 new product families, broadening company product line.
    • Authored 50 integrated-circuit technical-promotional articles also presented as conference papers, creating in-depth slide presentations so that field salespeople could raise customer's product-line awareness.
    • Made market research cold calls (visits, phone) to gather authentic customer-preference data, guiding next-generation sales and engineering actions to launch/reposition product lines. (Four major projects.) Developed an in-house program for creating and broadcast-mailing press releases, achieving significant media publicity without incurring outside-agency expense. Revamped product literature for logic devices, ASICs, FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), EDA software, and security software.
    • Prepared and critiqued business plans, technical proposals, R&D reports, computer programming manuals, and periodic-strategic-planning documents for many different firms.
    • Recruited, trained, and developed engineering and technical-marketing professionals, producing effective technical-staff members and middle/upper managers. Organized on-site high-level ESL class. Trained overseas salespeople.
    • Researched current state-of-the-art semiconductor processes on behalf of a major fab, to identify realistic benchmarks.
    • Recent study of networking, telecommunications, and computer security.
    
    
    

  • Digital Hardware and Software Engineering
    
    
    • Prepared the first comprehensive theory of operation for an ultra-large-scale FPGA, creating a common understanding of this complex part for the many separate work teams developing it, and helping to train new project members. Participated in defining the architecture and resources of the second-generation part. Prepared and verified a very large datasheet for a different FPGA, the major product of its supplier.
    • Architected, managed design team, and debugged two superminicomputers -- an ECL-technology high-speed number-cruncher and a TTL-technology reverse-engineered CDC emulator, achieving reliable full-speed operation, with high-speed-arithmetic and sophisticated arithmetic-checking capabilities respectively. Microcoded complete internal and input/output instruction set for the signal processor, and coded tight fast-loop routine to search for suitably-symmetric residue number systems to optimize its front-end digital-autocorrelator subsystem.
    • Established and supervised two strategic-marketing applications laboratories, and handled technical-hotline customer support, validating and promulgating designs described in company technical product literature; and troubleshooting numerous customer design/applications problems by telephone, retaining customer goodwill.
    • Performed preliminary design of remote local-loop-to-T1-line concentrator, and of computer portions of a combined Class 4/5 digital central telephony switching office, paving the way for a new product line of digital switches. Devised self-test code for a high-speed aerospace computer, locating a potentially-fatal microcode bug four weeks before scheduled customer shipment date for a deep-space application.
    • Developed and taught a one-semester EE graduate course in digital design, at San Jose State University.
    • Won U.S. Patents 3,435,425 and 3,508,213 as sole inventor in ferroelectric-photoconductor bulk-memory technology, strengthening company's patent position. Won NASA award for SIMD A/D-converter architecture.
    • Wrote/edited patent disclosures on proprietary low-voltage CMOS nonvolatile analog memory, and on web-based interactive client-server software.