A Notre Dame computer science and engineering professor has been awarded one of the most prestigious awards in his field.
Dr. Peter Kogge was presented the Charles Babbage Award at the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers’ 2014 International Parallel & Distributed Processing Symposium in Phoenix in May, in recognition of his contributions to the field.
According to a press release, Kogge, a Notre Dame alumnus, is considered the father of the computer who originated the concept of a programmable computer.
Kogge, who has served as the Ted. H. McCourtney professor of the department of computer science and engineering at Notre Dame since 1994, was recognized for "innovations in advanced computer architecture and systems," as stated in a press release. His research areas include massively parallel processing architectures, advanced VLSI and nanotechnologies and their relationship to computing systems architectures, non-von Neumann models of programming and execution, and parallel algorithms and applications and their impact on computer architecture.
He has been the recipient of numerous awards in the past, but the Babbage award towers over most of his illustrious accomplishments.
“The Babbage award ranks with the [Seymour Cray Computer Engineering Award] as my top awards,” Kogge said.
According to a press release, the Babbage award has been awarded annually since 1989.
Kogge is perhaps best known for his development of the space shuttle I/O processor, the world’s first multi-threaded processor to fly in space.
“The purpose of the I/O processor was to manage all the communications between all the sensors and actuators on the shuttle and the guidance computers,” Kogge said. “In a sense the IOP was thus essentially the first parallel processor to fly in space.”
Kogge is also well known for his invention of the Kogge-Stone adder process. According to a press release, this process is still considered the fastest means of adding numbers in a computer.
While his current endeavors require a partial leave from campus as he begins a startup company, Kogge plans on continuing his Notre Dame research, which aims to change the connection between a computer’s memory and processor.
“A few years ago, Jay Brockman, who is also on the Notre Dame CSE faculty, and I started to develop new computers that are designed for really big data applications,” Kogge said.
Kogge said appreciated the opportunities his Notre Dame education has provided him.
“My Notre Dame education was a central aspect in my ability to accomplish what I have done in my career, and this effect is not limited to me,” Kogge said.
Kogge was astounded by how many Note Dame graduates held high managerial and technical roles during his time at IBM, according to a press release.
“Interestingly enough, it wasn’t just the technical education at Notre Dame that was so important, but the development of the ability to communicate with others, especially in both understanding others real problems and then documenting solutions that are believably correct,” Kogge said. “This is a hallmark of why so many Notre Dame graduates have done so well."
