ACM Computer Architecture Group Honors Andreas Moshovos for Improving Memory Performance of Processors

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NEW YORK, July 19, 2010 – The ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Architecture (SIGARCH) presented its 2010 Maurice Wilkes Award to Professor Andreas Moshovos of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto, Canada, for his contributions to the development of memory-dependence prediction. This technique, used by high-performance microprocessors that execute memory-access operations, provides many improvements in boosting memory-system performance and reducing processor-design complexity. The award, which carries a prize of $2,500, was presented at the International Symposium on Computer Architecture (ISCA) in St. Malo, France, in June. 

Moshovos leads the University of Toronto’s AENAO research group, which is developing performance- and power-related technologies for single- and multicore processors. His contributions to memory-dependence prediction represent a novel solution to the decades-old problem of memory aliasing in which a data location in memory can be accessed through different symbolic names in the program. As a result, aliasing makes it particularly difficult to understand, analyze and optimize programs. 

            “We are extremely proud that the Association for Computing Machinery has recognized Professor Moshovos’s outstanding contributions to memory-dependence prediction,” said Cristina Amon, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto. “This honor confirms the global impact of the research being conducted at the Faculty and the outstanding reputation our professors have earned.” 

As a professor at Northwestern University in Illinois, Moshovos received a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation in 2000. He also won the IBM Faculty Partnership awards in 2008 and 2009, and was selected by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for Micro Top Pick paper awards in 2005 and 2010. With colleagues from the University of Toronto, he was granted a Semiconductor Research Corporation Inventor Recognition Award. Moshovos graduated from the University of Heraklion, Greece with an undergraduate degree and an M.S., and was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.           

The Maurice Wilkes Award, the only mid-career award offered by ACM SIGARCH, is given annually for an outstanding contribution to computer architecture made by an individual in a computer-related profession for 20 years or less.  It is named in honor of Maurice Wilkes, a recipient of the ACM A.M. Turing Award in 1967, who is best known as the builder and designer of the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC), the first computer with an internally stored program.

About ACM
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery www.acm.org, is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field’s challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession’s collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.   

About SIGARCH
The ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Architecture www.sigarch.org  serves a unique community of computer professionals working on the forefront of computer design in both industry and academia. It is ACM's primary forum for interchange of ideas about tomorrow's hardware and its interactions with compilers and operating systems.

 

About Engineering at the University of Toronto
The Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto www.engineering.utoronto.ca is the premier engineering institution in Canada. In 2009, Engineering at U of T ranked first in Canada and eighth in the world in the Times Higher Education–QS World University Rankings. With approximately 4,700 undergraduate students, 1,500 graduate students, 230 professors, 300 staff and 40,000 alumni, the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering is also the largest engineering school in Canada, and the first in the world to offer an undergraduate degree in nanoengineering.