ECE seminar: A holistic system support for persistent memory

Wednesday, March 2, 2022 10:00 am - 11:00 am EST (GMT -05:00)

Speaker:    SIHANG LIU, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

Topic:         A HOLISTIC SYSTEM SUPPORT FOR PERSISTENT MEMORY

Date:          WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

Time:         10:00 am – 11:00 am

Zoom:  https://uwaterloo.zoom.us/j/93374087391?pwd=LytlNHl1NFVLS1Q3OGFKSHVsUWFXdz09

Meeting ID: 933 7408 7391

Passcode: 669738

Abstract:

As the benefits from Moore’s Law are approaching an end, new technologies are being proposed and developed to satisfy the ever-growing demand for performance. One of these technologies is persistent memory, such as Intel’s recently-released Optane DC Persistent Memory. It is a unification of memory and storage, satisfying the demand for better performance and higher memory capacity. However, the adaption of this new memory technology would require a redesign of the system stack, where both software and hardware aspects are critical to the adaption of persistent memory.

In this talk, I will focus on both the software and hardware aspects of system support for persistent memory. On the software side, I will present how my work ensures the correctness of software systems designed for this new memory technology. On the hardware side, I will present my work on an efficient and secured persistent memory hardware system. Finally, I will describe my future research on more broad applications for persistent memory, as well as a longer-term research plan on providing system support for other emerging technologies. 

Biography:

Sihang Liu is a Ph.D. candidate in the Computer Science Department at the University of Virginia. His research interests lie in computer systems and architecture. During his Ph.D., he has focused on building system support for a new memory technology, persistent memory, spanning both the software and hardware stack for this memory technology. His research has been published at major systems conferences, such as ASPLOS, ISCA, and HPCA. From these research projects, he has produced five open-sourced artifacts. His work has been recognized by the 2019 MICRO Top Picks--Honorable Mention, the final list of NVMW 2019 memorable paper award, and a Google Ph.D. fellowship award.

As for professional service, he has served as a paper reviewer for top conferences and journals, such as ISCA, ASPLOS, TACO, ToS, and TPDS, and an artifact reviewer for multiple systems conferences, such as OSDI, ASPLOS, and EuroSys. Additionally, he currently serves as a co-chair of a Computer Architecture Long-term Mentoring program (CALM) and a board member of the Computer Architecture Student Association (CASA), to support junior researchers and those from underrepresented backgrounds. More information can be found on his website: https://www.sihangliu.com/

All are welcome!