Principal Investigator

Alex K. Jones, Ph.D.

Alex K. Jones received the BS degree in 1998 in physics from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, USA, and the MS and PhD degrees in 2000 and 2002, respectively, in ECE from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. He is a Professor of ECE and CS at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. He is currently serving as a Program Director at the US NSF in the CNS Division of the CISE Directorate. Dr. Jones’ research interests include compilation for configurable systems and architectures, scaled and emerging memory, reliability, fault tolerance, quantum computing, and sustainable computing. He is the author of more than 200 publications in these areas. His research is funded by the NSF, DARPA, NSA, and industry. He is an active member of program committees in the computer architecture, design automation, and sustainable computing areas. He is the steering committee chair for the IEEE International Green and Sustainable Computing Conference, an associate editor for the IEEE Transactions on Computers, and Sustainable Computing: Informatics and Systems Journal. He is a senior member of the IEEE and the ACM.

Dr. Jones’ research interests are broadly in the area of computer architecture. He is currently investigating quantum system codesign including design of basis gates, topologies, and transpilation from resonator devices to systems. He is also actively developing nanoscale magnetic memory systems including spin-transfer-torque and Racetrack memories with an emphasis on processing in memory. His other interests include reliability and fault-tolerance, computing and memories in harsh environments such as space, compilation techniques for configurable systems and architectures, and sustainable computing, among others. He has more than 200 publications in these areas. His research is funded by NSF, DARPA, NSA, and industry.

Current Members

Evan McKinney

Evan McKinney is a third-year graduate student, co-advised by Dr. Michael Hatridge from Department of Physics. He graduated from Iowa State University studying computer engineering and physics. In the lab, he studies the co-design of quantum computing architecture and optimizations for near-term QC applications.

Preston Brazzle

Preston graduated from the computer engineering department of the University of Pittsburgh in 2022. His undergraduate research included PCB design and biological modeling. Preston is currently working on new algorithms for processing using domain wall memory. Currently, he is designing fault protection schemes for common operations. Outside of research, he enjoys cooking, baking, and discovering new music. He enjoys spending time in his hometown Lancaster, Pennsylvania with his family and dogs.

Stephen Cahoon

Stephen is a current graduate student from Mobile, Alabama in his second year at the University of Pittsburgh. He graduated from the University of South Alabama in 2022 studying electrical and computer engineering. During his undergraduate career, he did research on convolutional neural networks and their use for medical diagnoses. Currently, his research includes novel memory technologies, processing in memory, and the environmental impact of producing and using computer chips. For leisure, he plays games and enjoys time with his wife, dog, and cat.

  • Girgis Falstin (he/him)
  • PhD Student, Physics
  • gif8 [at] pitt.edu
  • GirgisF

Girgis is a second year Phd student in the department of physics. He graduated with a BS in engineering physics from the University of Pittsburgh. He studies quantum computing architecture.

Richard F. Gibbons III

Richard is a first-year graduate student. He graduated from Virginia Tech studying Electrical Engineering. While at Virginia Tech, he lead the hardware development teams for two CubeSat Missions. In the lab, he studies sustainable computing and radiation tolerant space computing systems.

Alumni