Engineering Researcher Receives CHIPS and Science Act Funding

University Relations

Jia Di

Jia Di, professor and head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, will receive $400,000 from the National Science Foundation to develop digital integrated circuits as part of a multi-institutional research effort focused on advanced function and performance of semiconductor chips.

The award is part of the NSF’s Future of Semiconductors program and includes funding from the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. With a total of $45.6 million going to 24 research and education projects nationwide, the Future of Semiconductors program is a public-private partnership between the NSF and four companies – Ericsson, IBM, Intel Corporation and Samsung. 

Di and his research team at the U of A will collaborate with researchers at Florida International University, Northeastern University and the University of Delaware. They will focus on deep learning and signal processing using silicon photonics and digital circuits for ultra-wideband spectrum perception.

As part of the second research topic mentioned below, Di’s team will design, fabricate and test a series of digital integrated circuits, implementing artificial intelligence algorithms for radio frequency perception over the entire radio frequency spectrum.

The Future of Semiconductors program is meant to stimulate new semiconductor technologies and manufacturing by addressing three research topics:

• Collaborative research in domain-specific computing
• Advanced function and high performance by heterogeneous integration
• New materials for energy efficient, enhanced-performance and sustainable semiconductor-based systems.

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