Wed, 23 Aug, 2022

    
        > Hello Professor,
        >
        > I hope you are doing well, I am in your Computer Architecture (ECE460N)
        > class this semester and so far am really excited to see where it goes.
    
    
        Glad to hear it!
    
    
        > At the end of yesterday's class, you mentioned a MIT white paper suggesting
        > there was more to do at the top of the transformation hierarchy due to the
        > upcoming demise of Moore's Law. However, intuitively, I figured this would
        > leave more work to be done towards the bottom in an effort to optimize the
        > available resources and squeeze out more performance.
    
    
        Your intuition is right on target, it will.  In fact, I have been invited to
        give a talk at a conference in Barcelona a week from Thursday on exactly that
        point.  Yes, from top will involve accelerators on the chip, more compiler
        activity to take advantage of it, and most of all additional microarchitecture
        to carry out (as always) what is dictated by the software.  ...and this is the
        tip of the iceberg.  Even without push from the "top," there will still be
        plenty we can do since we are not at all fully or properly utilizing the
        enormous number of transistors on the chip already.
    
    
        > Could you please
        > provide a little more insight on your views of how the industry will
        > progress in the coming decades?
    
    
        That one will require too long an answer to be really coherent.  For openers,
        it will contain many processors interconnected, and many accelerators to carry
        out specific complex tasks which will then be done quicker than writing code
        to do it, and a serious interconnection network to enable quick access to get
        from A to B for all A,B.
    
    
        > For some context, I am actively trying to pursue graduate studies and
        > hopefully a career in academia. As I attempt to narrow down which area I
        > would like to focus on, I am curious to know where work needs to be done in
        > order to tailor myself appropriately.
    
    
        That one is easy.  Where work needs to be done: Everywhere.  My advice is to
        learn about what goes on at all layers of the transformation hierarchy since
        they feed on each other, and your ability in one area is today (and more so
        tomorrow) enhanced by your knowledge in the other areas.

        Hope this helps.

        Good luck
        YNP