ECE 290 Seminar: Memristors for a brain-scale neuromorphic chip

Presenter: Sung-Mo “Steve” Kang, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Research Professor, UC Santa Cruz

Description: Recently, applications of artificial intelligence (AI) have far outpaced Moore’s law in chip development, thus creating an increasingly large gap between user demand and the supply that the semiconductor industry can deliver. In this talk, we will discuss the unique roles of memristor technologies that can be leveraged to develop scaled-up AI neural networks, particularly spiking neural networks (SNNs) for brain-like neuromorphic computing and unsupervised learning with high energy efficiency. Open-source memristor circuit designs, along with open-source software, may facilitate the development of micro- and nano-electronic systems that emulate brain functions. In this venue, we will discuss how to harness memristor- based circuits and systems to build memristor neurons, synapses, and their interconnects for ultra-high packing density, low power consumption, and the fabrication services needed to enable innovation.

Bio: Sung-Mo “Steve” Kang is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Research Professor at the Baskin School of Engineering, UC Santa Cruz; Chancellor Emeritus of UC Merced; and President Emeritus of KAIST. He has published more than 500 journal and conference papers, authored 10 books, and holds 17 patents. Before returning to academia in 1985, he led the development of the world’s premier fully CMOS 32-bit VLSI microprocessor chipsets for telecommunications and computing applications as a technical supervisor at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey. This work was recognized as an IEEE Milestone in February 2025. He has received honors, including best paper awards, induction into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame, the Alexander von Humboldt Senior US Scientists Award, the IEEE Millennium Medal, the IEEE Mac Van Valkenburg Circuits and Systems (CAS) Society Award, the IEEE CAS Society Technical Excellence Award, the US Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) Technical Excellence Award, the IEEE Leon K. Kirchmayer Graduate Teaching Technical Field Award, and the IEEE CAS Society John Choma Education Award, as well as the Chang-Lin Tien Education Leadership Award. Dr. Kang is a Life Fellow of the IEEE and a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Asia-Pacific AI Association. He is a life member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Korean Academy of Science and Technology, and a foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering, Korea. He received his B.S. from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, New Jersey, in 1970; an honorary B.S. from Yonsei University; an M.S. from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1972; and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1975, all in electrical engineering.

Hosted by: Professor Soumya Bose, ECE Department

Zoom Link: https://ucsc.zoom.us/j/97975378707?pwd=ljcgaCfhMmhZ88Vt5dqQUBVQRjehOx.1