Dr. Fixel completed her Ph.D. in August 2007 from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  Her dissertation focused on modeling hot carrier effects in nanoscale metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors using a kinetic simulation technique.  Upon completion of her Ph.D., Dr. Fixel worked as a Contract Associate at Sandia National Laboratories for nearly six years, where she developed computer code for an in-house semiconductor device simulation tool.

Following this time, Dr. Fixel spent two years teaching as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Lafayette College in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.  At Lafayette College, Dr. Fixel taught courses in analog circuits, semiconductor device physics and electromagnetics.

Dr. Fixel's philosophy towards teaching includes inspiring, encouraging and challenging the students to grow and accomplish more than they thought they could.  She believes in cultivating a theoretical foundation that relates to real-world applications.

• D.A. Fixel, G.L. Hennigan and W.R. Wampler. “Modeling of III-V HBTs Exposed to Neutron Irradiation.” Journal of Radiation Effects, Research and Engineering (JRERE) (February 2013): 95-102.
• D.A. Fixel and W.N.G. Hitchon. “Kinetic Investigation of Electron-Electron Scattering in Nanometer-Scale Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors.” Semiconductor Science and Technology 23, no. 3 (March 2008): Article 035014. doi:10.1088/0268-1242/23/3/035014
• D.A. Fixel and W.N.G. Hitchon. “Convective Scheme Solution of the Boltzmann Transport Equation for Nanoscale Semiconductor Devices.” Journal of Computational Physics 227, no. 2 (December 2007): 1387-1410. 

• Gerald Holdridge Award for Excellence in Teaching, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2002.