The National Science Foundation has awarded $2 million to a team of researchers led by faculty from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Notre Dame who are pursuing more sustainable ways to build computers.
To be given out over the course of four years, the team will use the funding to find ways to recycle semiconductor chips used in computers for the creation of new machines, parts that wouldn't have to rely on additional mining of rare elements that are needed for circuity and other means.
"Computer technology is as ubiquitous in modern society as electricity, but in recent years there has been growing concern to develop more sustainable computing that reduces the environmental impact of manufacturing and the production of e-waste, while improving performance and extending lifespans," Peipei Zhou, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering and lead investigator of the team, said in a statement. "Our particular focus is to take a specific integrated chip called a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and “refresh” it for secondary and tertiary deployments to amortize manufacturing investment."
These efforts could "radically transform the environmental sustainability of computing," the researchers said while claiming to be the first team to pursue such an effort.
The funding award is given as part of the NSF's Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) office, which has an annual budget of $1 billion. This $2 million award to Pitt and Notre Dame came as part of a larger $13 million funding effort from the NSF as part of its Design for Environmental Sustainability in Computing (DESC) program, which is funding 25 research teams working to bring innovation and environmental sustainability to computer systems.
