{"583705":{"#nid":"583705","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Launches New Interdisciplinary Research Center","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech is meeting the future of computing head on as it stands up a new research center dedicated to unlocking a new era of performance. \u003Cstrong\u003EThe\u0026nbsp;Center for Research into Novel Computing\u0026nbsp;Hierarchies\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;(CRNCH) is focused on getting over one of the biggest hurdles facing computing today: the impending end of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Moore%27s_law\u0022\u003EMoore\u0026rsquo;s Law\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We knew that at some point physics would come into play. We hit that wall around 2005,\u0026rdquo; said \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/people\/thomas-conte\u0022\u003ETom Conte\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E, inaugural director of CRNCH and professor in Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s schools of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESince the 1960s, Moore\u0026rsquo;s Law has essentially held that, for a given price point, the number of transistors on an integrated circuit doubles roughly every two years. However, there are hard limits to building smaller integrated circuits because, as transistors get smaller they become less energy efficient.\u0026nbsp;The problem gets worse as the chips get faster.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We\u0026rsquo;ve gotten by since 2005 using multiple, slower-clocked cores per chip \u0026ndash; \u0026nbsp;\u0026#39;multicore processing,\u0026#39; in essence \u0026ndash; but it\u0026rsquo;s only a partial solution,\u0026rdquo; said Conte. \u0026ldquo;Very soon, computing\u0026rsquo;s historic performance growth rate will no longer be sustainable.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn fact, according to the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ieee.org\/index.html\u0022\u003EInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers\u003C\/a\u003E (IEEE) \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/rebootingcomputing.ieee.org\/\u0022\u003ERebooting Computing Initiative\u0026shy;\u003C\/a\u003E (of which Conte is a founding member and current co-chair) this inevitability means that wholesale changes are needed in both computing technologies and computer architecture if the next level of high performance supercomputing \u0026ndash; machines capable of 10 million trillion floating-point operations per second (10 exaflops) \u0026ndash; is to be achieved.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo facilitate these fundamental changes, Conte, along with School of Computational Science and Engineering Chair \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/people\/david-bader\u0022\u003EDavid Bader\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E, Charlotte B. and Roger C. Warren Chair of Computing \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/people\/richard-demillo\u0022\u003ERichard DeMillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E, Frederick G. Storey Chair in Computing \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/people\/richard-lipton\u0022\u003ERichard Lipton\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar and Rhesa \u0026quot;Ray\u0026quot; S. Farmer, Jr. Distinguished Chair in Embedded Computing Systems \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/faculty-staff-directory\/marilyn-c-wolf\u0022\u003EMarilyn Wolf\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E, and other Georgia Tech faculty proposed the establishment of a new interdisciplinary research center.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis IRC would take the lead in breaking down traditional barriers between computing\u0026rsquo;s various facets, such as devices, circuits, architecture, software, and algorithms, in order to restart the exponential growth rate embodied in Moore\u0026rsquo;s Law.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe proposal has come to fruition in the form of CRNCH.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We didn\u0026rsquo;t want to be a close follower in the space,\u0026rdquo; said Conte. \u0026ldquo;By leveraging the broad, interdisciplinary talent that exists here, Georgia Tech is well-poised to become the international leader in novel computing hierarchies. In doing so, we firmly believe Georgia Tech will be the global epicenter of a new computing economy.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo achieve the bold breakthroughs necessary to propel computing to the exascale level and beyond, CRNCH researchers are evaluating a number of possibilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Several promising research areas have been identified,\u0026rdquo; said Conte. \u0026ldquo;However some are more disruptive to the computer stack than others.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESome of the possible solutions that have been identified by the IEEE Rebooting Computing Initiative for further research include:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EQuantum computing\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026ndash; uses properties of quantum mechanics to solve optimization problems.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENeuromophic computing\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026ndash; leverages what is known about the human brain to create new technologies.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EApproximate and stochastic computing\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026ndash; complimentary approaches based on the observation that computers often calculate results to higher than required accuracy and precision.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAdiabatic and reversible computing\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026shy;\u0026ndash; recycles unused inputs and utilizes non-traditional devices for substantial power savings\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECryogenic superconducting\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026ndash; uses low temperature superconducting materials to conserve energy.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe CRNCH team includes experts in each of these focus areas. However, Conte said, \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s important to note that these general approaches are only a sampling of what may be possible and other approaches and techniques are actively being explored by the team.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWith the team in place and the center open for business, Conte expects CRNCH to quickly take a leading role in researching new computer hierarchies and become recognized as the academic research embodiment IEEE\u0026rsquo;s rebooting computing initiative.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Within three years we firmly believe that CRNCH will be providing international leadership and have significant influence on the development of new computer hierarchies,\u0026rdquo; said Conte. \u0026ldquo; We also believe that CRNCH will establish Midtown Atlanta as a hotspot for this new computing technology.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech is taking on computing\u0027s biggest challenges as it launches new IRI."}],"uid":"30267","created_gmt":"2016-11-09 18:08:37","changed_gmt":"2016-11-10 15:15:33","author":"Devin Young","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-10-06T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-10-06T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"582779":{"id":"582779","type":"image","title":"Tom Conte CRNCH","body":null,"created":"1476882216","gmt_created":"2016-10-19 13:03:36","changed":"1476882216","gmt_changed":"2016-10-19 13:03:36","alt":"","file":{"fid":"222144","name":"Tom Conte CRNCH.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Tom%20Conte%20CRNCH.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Tom%20Conte%20CRNCH.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":759385,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Tom%20Conte%20CRNCH.jpeg?itok=RhHm9yJ0"}}},"media_ids":["582779"],"groups":[{"id":"50875","name":"School of Computer Science"},{"id":"50877","name":"School of Computational Science and Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[{"id":"167010","name":"crnch"},{"id":"167011","name":"moore\u0027s law"},{"id":"167013","name":"conte"},{"id":"57441","name":"IRI"},{"id":"10466","name":"tom conte"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBen Snedeker, Communications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["albert.snedeker@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}