NSF invests $36M in computing projects that promise to maximize performance, reduce energy demands
3 projects receive awards through the Expeditions in Computing program
The U.S. National Science Foundation is awarding $36 million to three projects selected for their potential to revolutionize computing and make significant impacts in reducing the carbon footprint of the lifecycle of computers. Funding for the projects comes from the NSF Expeditions in Computing (Expeditions) program, an ambitious initiative that supports transformative research poised to yield lasting impacts on society, the economy and technological advancement. Projects funded by Expeditions are characterized by their ambition and potential for transformation, leveraging advances in computing and cyberinfrastructure to accelerate discovery and innovation across various domains of science and engineering.
“We are thrilled to announce these visionary projects that will advance environmental responsibility and foster innovation in the field of computing,” said Dilma DaSilva, acting assistant director for the NSF Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE). “Congratulations to these pioneering teams whose research will forge new pathways in computational decarbonization and in revolutionizing operating system design with machine learning.
Computational Decarbonization of Societal Infrastructures at Mesoscales: Led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, this project will develop the new field of computational decarbonization, (CoDec), which focuses on optimizing and reducing the lifecycle of carbon emissions of complex computing and societal infrastructure systems. CoDec will tackle interdependencies across multiple aspects of infrastructure, including computing, transportation, buildings and the electric power grid. Through innovative sensing approaches, optimization methods grounded in theory and artificial intelligence, and software-defined interfaces, CoDec seeks to automate and coordinate carbon-efficiency optimizations across time, space and sectors. These efforts will enable scientific discoveries in decarbonization while supporting sustainable growth, advancing technology and strengthening national security. Collaborators of this project include Carnegie Mellon University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, UCLA and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
U.S. National Science Foundation
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant Number 23091241. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation.