UCLA researcher seeks superchip

Ebony, Dec, 1994

You're sitting home watching television when suddenly something happens on the screen and you end up seeing those annoying double images and shadows that ruin the picture.

Millions of television viewers have to deal with this problem, and many make mad dashes to the telephone to complain to their local cable company.

Well, relief could be on the way soon. Gregory Brewer is working on a tiny chip that would permanently end that annoying interference. A graduate student at the UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Brewer is a part of a 15- to 20-member research team.

"Those images and double characters are often most visible when you see some of those cheap ads on TV," he says. His chip would end all of that. "For example, if a person's whole body on a screen is moving around, his arm may sometimes look blurry. The chip would help do some filtering of the image and re-draw it. If the chip runs fast enough, it mill filter out all the shadow images."

And much more, he says: "It could also be used to filter out unwanted noise with music. It may have enough capability for that. It is supposed to be a universal chip. By universal, I mean it could be like a microwave oven. Microwaves thaw, cook entire meals and. heat water. We're hoping for a chip to do things like that. That is my ultimate goal."

Brewer's work with semiconductors is but one of many projects at UCLA. The university, one of the premier research facilities in the country, established a Minority Engineering Program in 1983 to increase the number of Blacks, Hispanics and Native American students enrolled in its engineering programs. The Minority Engineering Program provides a comprehensive approach to address the academic, social and career development of minority engineering students, starting at the high school senior level and working with the students through their graduate and post-graduate years.

A native of Denver, Colo., 26 and single, Brewer says that as a child, "I was always taking things apart, always tearing up my toys. I used to build model toys and trucks. I made my own rockets... I just found it interesting and decided to do it as a career." He received a bachelor's degree in physics from Morehouse College before deciding to pursue a graduate degree in electrical engineering. He went on to intern three consecutive summers at a large computer corporation located near Boston, where he worked with top industry engineers. When he is not working in the laboratory, he enjoys riding his motorcycle, lifting weights, reading and listening to music.

When Brewer completes his thesis, he hopes to have a paper published on semiconductor research in one of the prestigious engineering journals. But while industry recognition is an exciting prospect, his primary motivation is to complete a major research project that will make life a bit easier for millions of consumers.