EE Professors Mingoo Seok and Xiaofan (Fred) Jiang take part in a $28M SRC/DARPA JUMP 2.0 Center on Cognitive Multispectral Sensing

February 02, 2023

The Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded a $28 million, five-year grant to a team of 20 researchers from 12 universities to establish a new research center on cognitive multispectral sensors (CogniSense). This center is funded by the SRC-administrated Joint University Microelectronics Program 2.0, or JUMP 2.0, and is led by GeorgiaTech.

The vision for CogniSense is to design a new type of intelligent sensors that dynamically adapt to “what is being sensed” and “how sensed signals are processed” according to the real-time changes in the environment. Cognitive multispectral sensors directly generate trustworthy insights from wideband multi-modal analog signals using closed-loop feedback control of the sensor hardware and feature extraction algorithms that enable energy-efficient sensing-to-action.

Professor Mingoo Seok is the thrust lead on “closed-loop-attention”, with the aim to develop new systems and techniques for adaptive feature extraction, trust estimation, dynamic closed-loop control, hardware acceleration, and power-trust management. 

Professor Xiaofan (Fred) Jiang leads the effort on system prototyping, with the aim to design, construct, and evaluate drone-based sense-to-action prototype platforms enabled by CogniSense. Jiang will also lead the Prototype Management Board together with Buckwalter (UC Santa Barbara) to oversee prototyping activities across the center. 

EE is leading another JUMP 2.0 Center focusing on ubiquitous connectivity, led by Professor Keren Bergman. For more information regarding this center, please visit:https://www.ee.columbia.edu/news/columbia-university-and-partners-win-35m-jump-20-grant-create-center-ubiquitous-connectivity

About SRC/DARPA JUMP 2.0 Centers

(Source: https://www.src.org/newsroom/press-release/2023/1037/)

SRC, along with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and industry and academic stakeholders, is kicking off the Joint University Microelectronics Program 2.0 (JUMP 2.0). The SRC-led effort expands on the original JUMP collaboration aimed at accelerating U.S. advances in information and communications technologies. 

The consortium created under JUMP 2.0 will pursue high-risk, high-payoff research spanning seven thematically structured centers. Each multidisciplinary center will focus on one overarching research theme identified as key to addressing emerging technical challenges. These defined interests, spurred by an increasingly connected world and a rapidly changing microelectronics landscape, will centralize long-term, pathfinding research aimed at breakthroughs applicable across defense and academia. 

“We are at an inflection point in the evolution of computing systems and technologies,” said Roman Caudillo, Intel-SRC assignee and JUMP 2.0 Director. “The JUMP 2.0 program will be a key component in identifying and forging the best path forward by driving public-private investment for disruptive innovation in microelectronics systems at scale. I look forward to helping guide the semiconductor industry through the SRC JUMP 2.0 program and in cooperation with DARPA in the years to come.” 

As a critical part of the DARPA Electronics Resurgence Initiative, JUMP 2.0 seeks to significantly improve performance, efficiency, and capabilities across a range of electronics systems. Novel materials, devices, architectures, algorithms, designs, integration techniques, and other innovations are at the heart of problem-solving for next-generation information and communications challenges. To that end, the centers will focus on JUMP 2.0’s seven complementary research themes, led by the following university-run centers: 

  • Cognition: Next-generation AI systems and architectures (COCOSYS: Center for the Co-Design of Cognitive Systems, Georgia Institute of Technology) 

  • Communications and Connectivity: Efficient communication technologies for ICT systems (CUBIC: Center for Ubiquitous Connectivity, Columbia University) 

  • Intelligent Sensing to Action: Sensing capabilities and embedded intelligence to enable fast and efficient generation of actions (COGNISENSE: Center on Cognitive Multispectral Sensors, Georgia Institute of Technology) 

  • Systems and Architectures for Distributed Compute: Distributed computing systems and architectures in an energy efficient compute and accelerator fabric (ACE: Evolvable Computing for Next Generation Distributed Computer Systems, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) 

  • Intelligent Memory and Storage: Emerging memory devices and storage arrays for intelligent memory systems (PRISM: Center for Processing with Intelligent Storage and Memory, University of California San Diego) 

  • Advanced Monolithic and Heterogenous Integration: Novel electric and photonic interconnect fabrics and advanced packaging (CHIMES: Center for Heterogeneous Integration of Micro Electronic Systems, Penn State) 

  • High-Performance Energy Efficient Devices: Novel materials, devices, and interconnect technologies to enable next-generation digital and analog applications (SUPREME: Superior Energy-Efficient Materials and Devices, Cornell University) 

About SRC: Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) is a world-class, non-profit consortium that works with industry, government, and academia partners to define, fund and manage university research on behalf of its member companies. Through its highly regarded research programs, SRC plays an indispensable part in both research and development strategies of the most influential industry leaders. Members of SRC gain access to research results, fundamental IP, and highly experienced students to compete in the global marketplace and build the workforce of tomorrow. For more information and to stay informed on our advancements, visit www.src.org

Media with inquiries should contact JUMP Administrative Assistant, [email protected]