University receives donation for computer architecture research facility

The Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) announced the creation of the new Hewlett Packard Enterprise Center for Computer Architecture Research thanks to an $11 million donation made by the company.

By Texas A&M Engineering June 20, 2019

The Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), a member of The Texas A&M University System, announced the creation of the new Hewlett Packard Enterprise Center for Computer Architecture Research, made possible with a donation from Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

The rise of Big Data and the development of powerful analytical techniques that can efficiently evaluate the data will dramatically transform the way we live and work. Unlocking the value of this data will require computer architectures that are flexible and not bound by traditional designs.

The center’s mission is to lead the way into this new world of data-driven computing architectures through academic-industry collaboration.

HPE donated research equipment is valued at $10.5 million. HPE also funded a $1 million endowed chair position that Texas A&M will match with a $500,000 contribution. The donation is intended to establish a leading-edge research capability and partnership with TEES dedicated to the study of advanced materials and photonics for innovative computer architectures.

The center will focus on advanced materials fabrication and characterization, future electronic devices, advanced photonics and novel computer architectures. Research will aim to achieve results that both expand knowledge and motivate the next generation of computer scientists and architects for the benefit of society.

“Looking ahead, the ability to make sense of the massive amounts of data generated in academic, public and private sector settings will change not only how we do business, but also how we live,” said Potter, also Director of Hewlett Packard Labs. “Our success at evaluating the world around us and making breakthroughs we never thought possible hinges on our ability to apply technology.”

The center occupies 25,000 square feet of space in the Giesecke Engineering Research Building (GERB). TEES also has contributed approximately $2 million for renovations to GERB to support the new equipment and will hire three faculty in this area.

Among the equipment donated is a Clustex, which is used to deposit material layers on a wafer; a Titan Cubed Themis TEM Microscope; Helios SEM/FIB dual beam system; an ASM Atomic Layer Deposition tool; and an electron microscope.

“Researchers can now develop next-generation computer chips for more powerful but energy-efficient computing, integrated photonic devices and microsensors for biosensing/medical applications or better autonomous vehicles, or flexible electronic devices and micro/nanofluidic systems for continuous health monitoring or point of care diagnosis in remote settings,” said Dr. Arum Han, director of the AggieFab Nanofabrication Facility at Texas A&M and professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Texas A&M University

www.tamu.edu

– Edited from a Texas A&M press release by CFE Media. See more Control Engineering education and training stories.