Graduate

Repeat Credit
May be repeated for credit.

Goal
Course seeks to explore the current research issues in parallel processing.

Expanded Course Description

1. Programming Models
2. Active Messages
3. Synchronization
4. Commodity Components
5. Shared-memory Multiprocessors
6. Scientific Applications
7. Network and Database Applications
8. Shared Memory Versus Message Passing
9. User-Level Shared Memory Protocols
10. Message Co-processors
11. User-extensible Operating Systems
12. Network of Workstations
13. Clusters of Symmetric Multiprocessors-processors

Project
Readings of current research papers. Final paper and presentation critiquing three related readings and extending their area with a small project. Final project involving computer simulation or mathematical analysis.

Assignments
Short-answer questions on each research paper.

Textbook
Course notes

Instructor: F. Chong

Prepared by: F. Chong (January 2003)

Overlap Statement:
This course does not have a significant overlap with any other course.

Expanded Course Description

1. Limits to High Performance
   The various impediments to achieving high performance will be detailed.
2. Pipelining and High Performance
   The usefulness of pipelining as a method for achieving high performance will be presented, as will the inherent limitations. Details on techniques used to overcome these limits will be examined.
3. Advanced Memory Design
   Advanced techniques for reducing the memory latency problem, such as the use of I/O queues, advanced caching schemes (including multi-level caches), and intelligent memory systems will be examined.
4. Special Purpose Processors
   The performance benefits and the regimes in which vector processors are most useful will be explored, as well as other specialty chips (such as Digital Signal Processors).
5. Single-Chip Processors
   The current and future state of supercomputing will be described.

Textbooks
M.D. Hill, N.P. Jouppi, and G. S. Sohi, Readings in Computer Architecture, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2000
Selected papers from the literature

Instructor 
M. Farrens

Prepared by
M. Farrens (February 2002)

Overlap Statement
This course does not have a significant overlap with any other course.

Expanded Course Description

1. Fundamentals of Computer Design
   1. Overview of history and trends in Processor design
   2. Measuring and Reporting Performance
   3. Motivations for the modern trend towards simpler architectures
2. Performance Enhancement Techniques
   1. Overview of Pipelining
   2. Advanced Pipelining topics
   3. Fine grain (Instruction level) Parallelism
3. Memory System Issues
   1. Discrepancies between memory speed and processor speed
   2. Introduction to multiple cache systems
   3. Overview of Advanced Storage systems
4. Parallel Processing
   1. Fine-and coarse-grained parallelism
   2. Introduction to tightly-and loosely-coupled designs
   3. Interconnection Networks
   4. Multiprocessors

Textbook
Hennessy and Patterson, Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach, (2nd edition), Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 1995

Instructor: M. Farrens

Prepared by: M. Farrens (January 2002)

Overlap Statement
This course covers many of the same topics as ECE 270, but does so at a less implementational and more software-related level.

Summary of Course Content
I. Quantum computing
A. Fundamentals 
B. Algorithms 
C. Technologies 
D. Error coding and encryption 
E. Quantum and classical hybrid systems 

II. Other technologies 
A. Nanoscale electronics 
B. MEMS devices 
C. Biological devices 
D. Nanotechnology 
E. Optical and holographic computing 
F. High density memories 

Project
Students will select a class project to explore the feasibility of a revolutionary technology. Projects will result in a project paper and project presentation. The projects will be individually tailored and will have their methodology and infrastructure adapted to the topic.

Computer Usage
Some homework will involve simulation software. Computer simulations will also be performed as necessary for class projects. 

Illustrative Reading
Selected papers from recent literature. 

Potential Course Overlap
Comparison of this course with other existing courses does not indicate any significant overlap.