Michel A. Kinsy

Michel A. Kinsy’s time as an Arizona State University undergraduate shaped his career path. Now that he has the opportunity to return, he is looking forward to the next step of his career and being able to shape the paths of others.

“I can say in earnest that ASU provided me with the key to a larger, culturally richer, engaging, and more impactful world,” Kinsy says. “To have the opportunity to contribute to this New American University experiment and its core promise of providing an excellent and broad access education is an honor. As a product of that experiment, I am coming back to pay it forward.”

Kinsy will be teaching Hardware & Systems Security, Advanced Computer Architecture, Computer Organization, Complex Digital Systems Design, and Applied Cryptography courses. He says he strongly believes in the “MIT hands-on engineering learning pedagogy,” adding that students who are thinking about taking one of his courses should expect project-based experiential learning modules.

In his new role, Kinsy will also spearhead the launch of the ASU Secure, Trusted, and Assured Microelectronics, or STAM, Center. He’s excited about the launch, noting the significant role the Phoenix area and the surrounding region play in the semiconductor industry. He says the center will help meet the pressing need to ensure that government has access to trusted and assured microelectronics, as well as a robust workforce pipeline.

“Through the STAM Center, ASU will be advancing American technical leadership in the field while creating a well-prepared diverse workforce,” Kinsy says.

It is not surprising that Kinsy ended up in this field. He loves structured thinking and says that his first real technical obsession was mathematics. At one point, he was participating in different levels of math competitions. Yet he says that like most people who fall in love with mathematics early on, he quickly encountered a lot of abstract problems. And to distract himself with more concrete problems, he started taking engineering courses.

“One of my introductory engineering courses involved a robot racing project,” Kinsy says.

“The fact that I could write an ‘if-else statement’ in a code and see it manifest on the obstacle course completely enthralled me,” he says. “I have been in this incredible euphoria since — looking into various computational engineering problems to solve.”

Meet the newest faculty members of the Fulton Schools of Engineering here.