SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 19 – San Jose State University (SJSU) is taking a leadership role in preparing a new generation of engineers to meet the multicore software challenge facing the electronics industry. The University is offering a new MSEE degree program, developed by the SJSU Electrical Engineering department and technologists from leading Silicon Valley companies. Both the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium (EEMBC) and the Multicore Association were founding contributors to this program.

“The industry has embarked upon a disruptive change by increasing performance through processors composed of multiple computing cores, essentially turning to parallel computing as the new performance driver. The SJSU MSEE program is designed to ensure students understand the concepts of multicore-based computing,” said Ahmed Hambaba, Ph.D., Associate Dean, Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering.

EEMBC has a long history in supporting the growth of microprocessor-based technology by providing MultiBench and other benchmarks capable of comparing and contrasting different microprocessor architectures and implementations so developers can make informed decisions during the microprocessor selection process. In parallel, the Multicore Association has developed standards to help untangle the programming complexities associated with today’s powerful multicore processors.

“We are collaborating with SJSU to provide a wide range of capabilities from both EEMBC and the Multicore Association to give the program real, field-proven tools as foundational capabilities for the program,” said Markus Levy, president of both EEMBC and Multicore Association.

The MSEE program goals include:

• Training students with practical multicore programming skills on real multicore processors.
• Familiarizing students with multicore architectures, such as private and shared cache architectures and inter-core communication and synchronization.
• Giving students hands-on experience of achieving software performance gains on multi-processor and multicore computer systems.
• Familiarizing students with the fundamentals of multi-threaded programming: OpenMP, Pthreads, task and data decomposition.
• Students will understand the challenges of using heterogeneous multicore architectures, specifically the challenges that are due to architectural properties, language, and operating system support.

Students who join the program receive a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering (MSEE) in less than two years while attending classes as a cohort. All students take the same classes with the same group throughout the duration of the program. Students can also opt to take single courses of interest without applying to the University.

Courses are presented one at a time, meeting one night a week in San Jose, hosted at Cavium Inc.’s headquarters.

About EEMBC

EEMBC, the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium, develops industry-standard benchmarks to test embedded processors and systems such as smart phones and network firewall appliances. EEMBC’s benchmark development work is supported by yearly member dues and license fees.

EEMBC, CoreMark, and BrowsingBench are registered trademarks of the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium. All other trademarks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners.

About The Multicore Association

The Multicore Association provides a neutral forum for vendors who are working with and/or proliferating multicore-related products, including processors, infrastructure, devices, software, and applications. The consortium has made available its Multicore Communications API (MCAPI) and Multicore Resource Management API (MRAPI) specifications through its website. Members include Abo Akademi University, Advanced Cluster Systems, Broadcom, Carnegie Mellon University, Cavium Networks, Codeplay, Delft University of Technology, EADS, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, EfficiOS, Enea, Ericsson, eSOL, Freescale Semiconductor, Huawei, Institute of Electronics and Telecommunications of Rennes, LG Electronics, Lockheed Martin, LSI, Mentor Graphics, MIPS Technologies, National Instruments, nCore Design, Netronome, Nokia Siemens Networks, PolyCore Software, Qualcomm, Sage Electronic Engineering, Siemens AG, Tampere University of Technologies, Texas Instruments, Timing Architects, UAS Technikum Wien, University of Houston, and Wind River.

About San Jose State University/College of Engineering

San Jose State University, the oldest public institution of higher education on the West Coast, is the number one supplier of education, engineering, computer science and business graduates to Silicon Valley, the world’s high tech capital. Ranked in the top 15 master’s-level public universities in the West by U.S. News & World Report in its annual survey of “America's Best Colleges.” Also, the US News and World report recently ranked the College of Engineering 3rd nationally among state schools, and 17th nationally among non-PhD schools (2013).

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Source: San Jose State University