Computer Architecture

Undergraduate / Graduate

Computing systems have advanced rapidly and transformed every aspect of our lives for the last few decades, and innovations in computer architecture is a key enabler. Residing in the middle of the system design layers, computer architecture interacts with both the software stack (e.g., operating systems and applications) and hardware technologies (e.g., logic gates, interconnects, and memories) to enable efficient computing with unprecedented capabilities. In this course, students will learn the fundamental principles, techniques, and tradeoffs in designing the hardware/software interface and hardware components to create a computing system that meets functional, performance, energy, cost, and other specific goals. Example topics include instruction set architecture (ISA), pipelining, memory hierarchies, input/output, and multi-core designs. In addition, we will discuss advanced topics regarding recent research and trends. This course also includes hands-on labs, where students will enhance their learning by implementing a modern microprocessor in a C simulator.