Discontinuity-inducing trends (e.g., the arrival of multi/many-cores, the reduced reliability of semiconductors, and the ever-presence of power constraints) are transforming the field of computer architecture. Momentous changes should be expected in all domains, including portable clients, home and business computing, and datacenter/petascale computing. In this environment, one asks:

– What will be the computing platforms in 2020-2025?

– What are the research challenges in major architecture that must be overcome to create these platforms?

– What will be the impacts to and from the broader society at large?

To answer these questions, two workshops were organized that focused on the role research in computer architecture will play, building on the 2005 CRA workshop on Revitalizing Computer Architecture Research. The goals of these workshops were to:

– Clearly articulate an agenda and roadmap for research in computer architecture. Such an agenda must be broadly endorsed by the research and industrial communities as well as be an effective vehicle for communicating to technical and non-technical national leaders.

– Create excitement and community building for research in computer architecture and form lasting research partnerships between multiple computer architecture researchers.

– Unlock the potential of the many junior researchers in our community and ensure the continuous leadership of our nation in this area.

– Suggest how to structure funding and research programs in a way that is commensurate with computer architecture’s central role in computer science, the IT industry, and the US economy.

One of the two workshops was on Popular Parallel Programming and the other on Extending the Current Sequential Programming Model.

Organizers:

Josep Torrellas (University of Illinois)
Mark Oskin (University of Washington)