/// PORTFOLIO

ALEX CLUNAN

Electrical Engineering Student | VLSI & Computer Hardware Design

I am a senior Electrical Engineering student at the University of Virginia specializing in VLSI design, computer hardware architecture, and embedded systems. My work spans from nanoscale circuit optimization to systems-level hardware-software integration.

SELECTED PROJECTS VIEW RESUME

01 // Current Roles

Head Teaching Assistant - Applied Physics (Electricity & Magnetism)

Leading a team of 15 TAs, coordinating lab sessions, ensuring grading and office hour duties are met, and developing curriculum materials.

Teaching Assistant - Computer Architecture and Design

Guiding students through the design and implementation of pipelined RISC-V processors and providing feedback on digital design concepts.

Undergraduate Researcher - Swami Lab

Developing low-cost, low-latency impedance measurement systems for biological signal analysis using Raspberry Pi and custom PCB architecture.

02 // Experience

Software Engineering Intern @ Ultrata LLC

Remote | June 2025 - Present
  • Developed a Linux FUSE filesystem to interface with the Intelligent Memory Fabric (IMF), implementing over 30 functions with extensive debugging in gdb.
  • Modified the C standard library and created C++ STL allocator classes to enable compatibility with IMF.
  • Benchmarked S3 interface vs. MinIO performance using proprietary tools.

Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP) Fall Engagement @ Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Philadelphia

Oct 2025 - Dec 2025
  • Collaborated on a whitepaper for Condition Based Maintenance of naval hydraulic systems. Focused on data analysis and AI integration topics.

Emergency Medical Technician @ Charlottesville Albemarle Rescue Squad

Aug 2023 - Feb 2024
  • Provided direct patient care and emergency medical treatment on scene and during ambulance transport.

Bassist / Keyboardist / Audio Engineer

Performing live music and managing sound production and mixing for a rock band.

03 // Selected Projects

CUSTOM IMPEDANCE ANALYZER

In progress (Spring 2026 capstone). Collaboration with Swami Lab at UVA: lock-in amplifier and processing pipeline for real-time impedance analysis to support cell sorting (Verilog, DSP, FPGA, and PCB work).

TECHNOLOGIES
  • Verilog
  • DSP
  • FPGA
  • PCB Design
SECURE TWO-WAY RADIO SYSTEM

Built an AES-128 encrypted radio system on PYNQ-Z1 Xilinx FPGA boards using Vitis HLS to generate hardware IP modules with AXI protocol integration. Demonstrated successful encrypted communication between two boards via radio.

TECHNOLOGIES
  • Xilinx Tools
  • FPGA
  • Verilog
  • C Driver
CUSTOM 64KB SRAM ARRAY DESIGN

Designed and optimized a complete SRAM system in FreePDK 45nm using Cadence Virtuoso. Implemented custom 6T bitcells and evaluated multiple sense amplifier and decoder architectures. Applied dynamic wordline voltage techniques to optimize the ActiveEnergyPerAccess×Delay²×Area×IdlePower metric. Verified the design using SPICE simulations, checking across PVT corners.

TECHNOLOGIES
  • Cadence Virtuoso
  • FreePDK45
  • SPICE Simulation
RISC-V SOFT-CORE PROCESSOR

Constructed a complete soft-core RISC-V CPU supporting arithmetic, logic, memory, and branch instructions. Integrated UART transceiver and validated functionality through comprehensive ModelSim testbenches.

TECHNOLOGIES
  • Verilog
  • RISC-V Assembly
  • ModelSim
FPGA AUDIO SYNTHESIZER

Designed a hardware synthesizer featuring an LFO, mixer, and a custom delta-sigma 1-bit DAC output. Implemented entirely in Verilog.

TECHNOLOGIES
  • Verilog
  • DSP
  • Music
SPIKING NEURAL NETWORK ACCELERATION

Developed and trained a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for MNIST classification, then converted it to a Spiking Neural Network (SNN) for deployment on BrainChip Akida hardware. Benchmarked inference latency, energy efficiency, and accuracy against Intel i7-8700k CPU baseline.

TECHNOLOGIES
  • Python (TensorFlow)
  • Akida SDK
  • Neuromorphic Hardware
SCAMSHIELD (HOOHACKS 2026)

3rd place overall. Raspberry Pi system that listens to phone calls in real time, scores scam risk with Gemini and triggers immediate alerts via a Google Nest Speaker, LEDs/buzzer, and family notifications with a Next.js / Auth0 dashboard on Vercel. Built with FastAPI, local STT, and SQLite logging.

TECHNOLOGIES
  • Raspberry Pi
  • Python / FastAPI
  • Next.js / TypeScript
  • Gemini API
  • Auth0 / Vercel

04 // Technical Skills

HARDWARE & TOOLS
  • Cadence Virtuoso
  • Xilinx Vitis / Vivado
  • ModelSim / Quartus
  • FPGA Development
PROGRAMMING & SPECIALIZATIONS
  • C / C++ / Python
  • Verilog / SystemVerilog
  • RISC-V Assembly
  • VLSI & Embedded Systems

05 // Contact