Federal Project Grant Summary

The University of Illinois received a $420,719 CAREER Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (Computer and Information Science and Engineering program, CFDA 47.070) effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031. This award supports research to enable ultra-low-cost, cloud-free artificial intelligence (AI) data processing at the edge by designing integrated hardware and software foundations that co-locate computation and storage on unified chips. The project addresses critical deficiencies in contemporary computer architectures where physical separation between processing and storage chips necessitates excessive data movement, consuming 100 to 1,000 times more energy than computation itself. By leveraging recent breakthroughs in computing hardware that realize decades-old visions of unified chip design, the research aims to eliminate data movement waste and enable mobile devices such as smartphones, drones, and sensors to perform advanced AI analytics without cloud connectivity or internet dependency.

The project will deliver publicly disseminated research findings through peer-reviewed conference publications, openly available software tools, and a dedicated project website. Additionally, the award will fund development of new university curricula, K-12 educational programs, and public outreach initiatives focused on hardware/software co-design competencies essential for training the next generation of computer engineers. The research has broad applications spanning automated crop monitoring, extended reality gaming, rural healthcare solutions, and infrastructure anomaly detection. All deliverables and educational materials will be made publicly accessible to maximize the research impact and workforce development outcomes across the computing discipline.