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Established in 1984 by Professors Zvi Kohavi and Ran Ginosar, the VLSI Lab of the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Technion has played a central role in VLSI education and research in Israel. Over four decades, the laboratory evolved alongside the rapid technological advances in chip design—from early Apollo workstations and Sun systems to today’s industry-standard design environments. In recent years, the laboratory was renewed and upgraded through the generous support of Apple and NVIDIA, enabling students to design, fabricate, and validate fully functional VLSI chips as an integral part of their academic training. Throughout its history, the lab operated under the academic leadership of Professors Zvi Kohavi, Ran Ginosar, Benny Chor, Ami Litman, and Yael Nemirovsky.
At the center of this endeavor stood Goel Samuel, the laboratory’s first engineer, who joined the lab upon its establishment and dedicated more than 42 years to its development and success. Through his professional guidance and commitment to excellence, thousands of students gained practical experience in VLSI design, many of whom went on to leadership roles in industry and academia. As Goel retires, the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering expresses its sincere gratitude for his exceptional contribution to generations of students, faculty members, and researchers, and to the advancement of VLSI education in Israel. The laboratory’s activities will continue under the leadership of Rotem Ben-Hur, Sharon Bar-Lev Shefi, and Riyad Nasrallah.