Illinois ECE

06/02/2026

AI chip innovation continues to accelerate as Cerebras Systems gains attention for its wafer-scale architecture designed to push beyond traditional GPU limits. A recent Yahoo Finance feature highlights how the company is positioning itself in the increasingly competitive AI hardware landscape.

As ECE Professor Deming Chen explains, "smaller chips are easier to produce, cheaper, and can be scaled up by just adding more."

Read more: https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-cerebras-ai-chips-stand-out-in-the-nvidia-dominated-market-155742216.html

Cerebras' chips are far different from Nvidia's, but both are designed to power AI data centers.

06/01/2026

ECE Ph.D. candidate Hyungyo Kim earns international recognition for research improving GPU efficiency and lowering AI computing costs through smarter system design. Discover: https://ece.illinois.edu/news/rising-star-lowering-cost-ece-phd-candidtate-receives-international-distinction

ECE Ph.D. candidate Hyungyo Kim earns international recognition for research improving GPU efficiency and lowering AI computing costs through smarter system design.

06/01/2026

ECE associate professor Joohyung Kim and computer science assistant professor Yuxiong Wang are among 104 faculty members selected nationwide for the next phase of the Toyota Research Institute’s University Research Program 3.0, which brings together university researchers and TRI collaborators to tackle complex technological challenges in human-centered AI and robotics.

Discover more about their project: https://ece.illinois.edu/news/illinois-grainger-faculty-secure-toyota-research-institute-funding

ECE Professor Joohyung Kim and CS Professor Yuxiong Wang receive Toyota Research Institute funding to advance robotics, multimodal sensing, and AI-driven robot learning.

05/29/2026

As OpenAI launches its Daybreak cyber defense platform, ECE Professor Daniel Alabi offers insight into AI security, privacy, and the future of cybersecurity. Discover: https://www.aitoday.io/openais-daybreak-bets-on-agentic-cyber-defense-a-31699

OpenAI's GPT-5.5-Cyber marks a shift from the human-guided workflow of GPT-5.4-Cyber toward more autonomous security operations. Integrated into the Daybreak

05/28/2026

Illinois researchers, led by ECE Professor Zhi-Pei Liang, have developed a new MRI technology that can provide a far more complete picture of the human brain in a single scan.

“MRx can be a powerful tool for noninvasive tissue characterization," Liang explains. "By providing rich, multidimensional biomarkers to capture disease progression and treatment response, this capability could open new opportunities for more precise diagnosis, individualized treatment planning and improved patient outcomes.”

Read: https://news.illinois.edu/new-mri-technology-provides-a-comprehensive-view-of-the-human-brain/

New MRI technology provides a comprehensive view of the human brain May 6, 2026 10:37 am by Liz Ahlberg Touchstone Biomedical Sciences Editor Engineering Health and Medicine Life Sciences Share on Facebook Share on X Share via email University of Illinois researchers developed multiplexed MRI techno...

05/27/2026

ECE Professor Naresh Shanbhag has been named the next Director of the Coordinated Science Laboratory, one of Illinois’ premier interdisciplinary research labs.

A longtime leader in circuits, machine learning hardware, and energy-efficient computing research, Shanbhag has helped shape interdisciplinary innovation at Illinois for decades. We look forward to seeing his leadership guide CSL into its next chapter. More: https://csl.illinois.edu/news-and-media/shanbhag-named-12-th-coordinated-science-laboratory-director

Shanbhag named 12th Coordinated Science Laboratory Director

05/26/2026

ECE Associate Professor Kejie Fang has received a $2 million DARPA grant to help advance the future of quantum computing.

The project focuses on improving how quantum devices “talk” to each other by developing new technology that can better connect and transfer information between quantum systems. These advances could help make future quantum computers faster, more flexible, and more scalable.

Read more: https://ece.illinois.edu/news/darpa-funding-to-advance-high-performance-quantum-interconnect

Kejie Fang, Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering, has received a 2 year, $2 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a wavelength-agile entangled photon source (WAEPS) using nonl...

05/22/2026

Big innovation can come from very small chips.

Ram Krishna, a Ph.D. student of ECE professor Elyse Rosenbaum, is being recognized for research that is helping reshape electronic packaging and semiconductor integration, work that is critical to the future of high-performance computing and advanced electronics.

The Electronics Packaging Society Fellowship is a prestigious award given to a single outstanding Ph.D. student in the world from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. It will be formally presented to Ram at the IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC) on May 28 in Orlando, Florida.

Read more about the work and his journey: https://ece.illinois.edu/news/small-chips-big-impact-how-ram-krishna-is-rethinking-electronic-packaging

05/21/2026

From study sessions to graduation, the Class of 2026 really said:
“Challenge accepted.” 💙🧡

05/20/2026

ECE kicked off commencement weekend with a graduation open house. Graduates and their guests were invited to an afternoon in ECEB, complete with refreshments and remarks from Department Head Jennifer Bernhard.