Application of a Bachelor's Degree in Physics to High-Performance Computer Design

 

Greg Edlund `87

Senior Engineer, IBM

Rochester, MN

 

 

Contemporary processor chips power a wide spectrum of applications spanning supercomputers that solve complex problems in the life sciences to game consoles that calculate 3D graphics in real time.  All of these applications share one thing in common:  they require reliable high-speed data communication between chips.  Transfer of electromagnetic energy within a computer system is the domain of signal integrity engineering, a branch of engineering that combines knowledge of high-speed electronic circuits with classical electromagnetic theory.  This talk includes two examples of real system failures and touches on some of the exciting ways scientists are utilizing the incredible computing power at their fingertips.