#LatinaGeeks partnered with Qualcomm on July 7th to dive into the history of 5G at Qualcomm. We had an amazing panel that also discussed Qualcomm’s Latinx-focused events, recruiting and initiatives. If you weren’t able to make the event, read on for a high-level recap!
Maricela Alberto, a Senior Legal Specialist at Qualcomm, kicked us off and discussed her participation on the board for LatinQ, which supports Latinx-focused events as well as work with the Society of Hispanic Engineers for network and career development.
Lorena Santos, a first generation Mexican-American and a Staff Mask Layout Designer at Qualcomm, shared how Qualcomm is the #1 Fabless semiconductor company and has now driven the evolution of wireless for 35 years. Lorena also discussed how Qualcomm pioneered the technologies powering the future such as the innovative technologies in their cars, and took us back by covering the history of Qualcomm and how Qualcomm introduced the first 5G modem.
Next was Nery Lara who is a Software Engineer at Qualcomm. She touched on 5G and discussed how Qualcomm is bringing a next-gen experience to this type of technology such as fiber-like data speeds, low latency for real-time interactivity (great for streaming Netflix!), uniform performance, and massive capacity for unlimited data. Not to worry – 5G will work on 4G or 3G networks! To put it in simple terms, what would take you 1-4 days to download a video on 2G would take minutes in 5G.
Janet Tisnado, Principal Manager and Layout Designer at Qualcomm, with over 17 years of experience, introduced us to the world driving automation, known as C-V2X. She went into the capabilities of the C-v2X and that Qualcomm has a vibrant ecosystem of C-V2X solutions – ready for deployment NOW! Whether or not you’ve envisioned a world of automated driving, it’s coming sooner than you think.
Lauren Picado, a Systems Test Engineer at Qualcomm, switched gears to Mars. Did you know that Qualcomm was involved with the Mars Helicopter!? YES – this project began in 2014 and cost around $80M in development. The Mars Helicopter is a small robotic helicopter that scouts terrain for the rover.
Finally, the team conducted a Q&A session, discussing their veterans and return-ship program, their need for more cybersecurity people, and advice for non-technical people interested in tech.
Thank you to everyone who participated with us and our wonderful panelists from Qualcomm! We learned so much from you. It has been a pleasure working with Qualcomm this year and we hope to collaborate again soon.
