1 of 14

1
Whats at the End of the Rainbow? A Pot of Golden
Research
Ann Gordon-Ross Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering University of Florida,
Gainesville
2
About me .

• PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from the
  University of California, Riverside in 2007
• Undergraduate and graduate experiences have lead
  me to an academic position
• Undergraduate research opportunities
• Grader for many, many years
• Had a job offer after BS, but desired not to
  leave the student lifestyle
• Taught a programming course for 3 ½ years during
  graduate school
• Graduate student life is great!
• Excellent mentor and advisor! This is the most
  important choice you will make!!

3
Graduate School ? Academic Position

• In todays job market, you need higher education
• Highly competitive, set yourself apart
• Lack of advanced degree limits progress

• MS degree
• More hirable, likely a better position
• Higher starting pay (but some argue that the
  raises over those two years nullify the higher
  starting pay)
• Many non-thesis students, so thesis option sets
  you apart
• PhD
• Large change to future job description
• You come up with the ideas instead of
  implementing anothers ideas

4
Trials as a Woman in ECE

• For me? None, but..
• More challenging for women
• Inappropriate stereotypes
• Potentially a lack of family support
• Prejudice from other students
• Feelings of inadequacy
• How to cope?
• Join organizations and be involved
• WECE Women in Electrical and Computer
  Engineering
• SWE Society of Women Engineers
• Phi Sigma Rho - National Society for Women in
  Engineering and Engineering Technology

5
Does Luck Have It?

• YES!!!!
• Being a women almost stacks the deck for you

• More opportunities
• Specific funding opportunities
• Special programs
• Increased peer support
• Targeted recruitment

Take advantage of luck, but dont rely on it!!!!

• But luck will only get your so far
• Success always requires hard work!

6
Research Opportunities. What is CHREC?
7
(No Transcript)
8
What is CHREC?

• CHREC
• Unique US national research center in RC field,
  established Jan07
• Leading research groups in RC for HPC/HPEC _at_ 4
  major universities
• University of Florida (lead)
• Brigham Young University
• George Washington University
• Virginia Tech
• Under auspices of I/UCRC Program at NSF
• Industry/University Cooperative Research Center
• CHREC reviews growth among best of any NSF
  Center on record
• CHREC is both a National Center and a Research
  Consortium
• University groups serve as research base
  (faculty, students, staff)
• Industry government organizations are research
  partners, sponsors, collaborators, advisory
  board, technology-transfer recipients

9
Reconfigurable Computing
?
10
Reconfigurable Computing
10-100x speedups with 2-10x energy savings not
uncommon vs. FMC
From Satellites to Supercomputers!
RC Application-oriented, software-controlled,
hardware-adaptive computing
11
More Research Opportunities.
12
Power-Constrained Domains

• Embedded Systems Domain
• Increased battery life
• Decreased cooling requirements

13
Dynamic Optimizations
14
Dynamic Optimizations Benefits

• No user effort
• User doesnt know what dynamic optimizations are
• No application-designer effort
• Reduced time to market
• Reduced NRE costs
• System reacts to changing environment
• Changes in input stimulus
• Changes in software/firmware
• Reduced power consumption
• Longer battery life
• Reduced cooling requirements

15
Questions??