Dave Vallancourt could be considered a “lifer” at Columbia Engineering -- he received his BS in 1981, his MS in 1983, and his PhD in 1987, all in electrical engineering (EE) at Columbia. He then became an assistant professor at the Engineering School from 1987 until he joined Bell Labs in 1992.  

While at Bell Labs and subsequent positions at Texas Instruments, Vitesse Semiconductor, and PMC-Sierra, he focused on analog and mixed-signal integrated circuit design for communications applications, for which he was awarded a dozen patents. During this time he maintained his ties to Columbia as an adjunct professor in EE. 

But he couldn’t resist the lure of full-time teaching at Columbia and returned to EE in 2005 as a senior lecturer in the discipline of circuits and systems, where he’s been ever since.