NSF funds two new Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers

The National Science Foundation (NSF), along with several industry partners, have funded two new Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC) at the University of Illinois. Led by ECE faculty members, the Center for Advanced Electronics through Machine Learning (CAEML) and the Center for Computational Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine (CCBGM) will capture research needs in two critical fields: microelectronic circuits and systems for semiconductors; and a platform for generating, interpreting, and applying genomic data.

ECE Professor Elyse Rosenbaum will lead the Center for Advanced Electronics through Machine Learning (CAEML). Housed at the Coordinated Science Lab, the center will focus on advances in integrated circuits, or chips, which power everything from smart watches to supercomputers. Co-led by researchers from Georgia Tech and North Carolina State University, CAEML will leverage machine-learning techniques to develop new ways to increase performance while reducing chip size and development cost, tapping into a need of the semiconductor industry, one of America’s top exporters.

The Center for Computational Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine (CCBGM) will also be housed at CSL. Led by ECE Professor Ravishankar K Iyer, the center will work with colleagues at the Mayo Clinic to advance pressing societal issues, such as enabling patient-specific treatment of cancer and other diseases, understanding and modifying microbial communities related to human health and agriculture, and supporting humanity’s growing need for food by improving the efficiency of plant and animal agriculture.

I/UCRCs aim to partner university research with industry needs in order to transfer research results and technological advances to the U.S. marketplace. With these two centers, the University of Illinois is positioned to be at the leading-edge of industry-relevant, societal research needs. With strong industry, university, and clinical support, the centers have the opportunity to significantly advance electronic systems and health care in novel ways.