While studying for his PhD and working as a teaching assistant at a university in Milan, Luca Buonanno saw a posting on LinkedIn for an opportunity with Hewlett Packard Labs that seemed to match his skills and interests perfectly. He knew it would be a great fit.
A former research colleague at Politecnico di Milano had posted this opportunity, looking for a postdoctoral research associate to join his team. Buonanno figured he had the experience โ six years researching topics like the physics of electronic devices. And Hewlett Packard Labs offered a way for him to transition from academia to the industry side.
โI had a chance to essentially glue my experience with device technology with the industry experience of the design team,โ Buonanno said. โSometimes thereโs a gap between researchers and professional engineers, and this opportunity gave me the chance to communicate with both.โ
Buonanno joined the Labs team in 2021. He spent his first year working remotely from Italy. Then he joined his new team in California in March of 2022.
โDoing research on smaller teams in academia gives you the flexibility to do exploratory research, but theyโre often bound by stringent budgets,โ said Buonanno. โHaving larger teams that are grounded in industry perspective helps you solve challenges faster.โ
New Experiences at Labs
At Hewlett Packard Labs he has worked on several projects, most notably a tape-out project that was completed in March 2023. The project centered around memory technologies, specifically the use of novel associative memories, for achieving faster computation. Buonanno used his expertise in researching the physical world of devices and applied it in a practical way.
These experiences also opened him up to another aspect of being on the industry side of research โ working alongside industry partners. Devices and projects he worked on were being prototyped faster than he had ever experienced. He cites the network of industry partners Hewlett Packard Labs has as a key aspect for why the company is able to put forward cutting-edge research and products.
โOne thing Iโve learned is that having an industry partner have your back means you have the tools to do research the right way,โ Buonanno said.
His advice for other postdocs looking for career experiences?
โDonโt be afraid to look for opportunities outside of academia,โ said Buonanno. โAcademia is a great place to start, but you grow a lot as a professional when you can absorb from industry as well.โ
Buonanno wanted to keep his mind as open as possible after his time as a postdoc research associate. So he explored some opportunities with other companies but ultimately decided to continue the work he started at Labs.
โThe research teams I interviewed with were great, but the work I did here was so fascinating to me,โ Buonanno said. โThere are so many things that I can still absorb from people I work with, so I decided to stay and keep contributing.โ
Labs' Collaborative Culture
Buonanno said Hewlett Packard Labsโ collaborative culture helped drive his success. He sees fewer silos and more open knowledge sharing across teams, which allows for the strengths of different teams to come together on research projects.
As he embarks on his new career with Hewlett Packard Labs, Buonanno looks back at his time as a postdoctoral research associate as a transformational period that can be a model for others considering leaving academia.
โIf someone feels they would be a great fit for academia someday, then working in the industry at a place like Hewlett Packard Labs would be a great place to gain valuable experience,โ Buonanno said. โYouโll have the chance to learn a path you can grow into and get to a point where youโre more knowledgeable than when you arrived.โ
Buonanno knew he was a fit for the role when he saw it. Taking the chance to show off his skills gave him the opportunity to experience a new field and become a vital connector between researchers and engineers.
Do you feel like Hewlett Packard Labs has the perfect role for you? View Labsโ postdoctoral opportunities here.
