John E. Ayers grew up eight miles from an integrated circuit design and fabrication facility, where he worked as a technician and first developed his passionate interest in the topic. After earning a BSEE degree from the University of Maine (Orono, Maine) in 1984, he worked as an integrated circuit test engineer for National Semiconductor (South Portland, Maine). He worked for six years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, New York) and Philips Laboratories (Briarcliff, New York) on semiconductor material growth and characterization, earning the MSEE in 1987 and the PhDEE in 1990, both from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Since then, he has been employed in academic research and teaching at the University of Connecticut (Storrs, Connecticut), where he has taught the course on digital integrated circuits for a number of years. He has been honored with the Electrical and Computer Engineering Best Teacher Award (2003-2004 and 2004-2005) and the School of Engineering Outstanding Teaching Award (2000-2001) and is a University of Connecticut Teaching Fellow (1999-2000). Ayers has authored more than 60 journal and conference papers as well as three books. He is a member of Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, and Phi Kappa Phi and is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He lives in Ashford, Connecticut, and enjoys running, hiking, and bicycling with his wife and three children.