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Peiyi Zhao, Ph.d

 

Assistant Professor,  

Department of Mathematics and Computer  Schmid College of Science

Chapman University

 


   
Phone:714 744 7804
Fax:    714 628 7340
Email: zhao at chapman dot edu

 

Office hours:

                      Wed., Fri.: 12:10pm- 1:00pm, BK207;           
                      Tue.:   9:00am- 1:00pm, BK207; 

Current courses:

2009:  CPSC330 Digital Logic Design: using Hspice/Magic tool, Verilog, Xilinx FPGA

           CPSC370 Robotic Design: using Lego Mindstorms NXT

 

News:
2008
: 1. Research presentation: Tsinghua University(top science and engineering school in China), Beijing:
          “Low Power Double Edge Flip flop”
          2.  Faculty Forum of Chapman University
         
Green Computing: Reducing the environmental and economic impact of energy consumption

2007: Undergraduate student was involved with a peer reviewed journal publication in Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
          One student was recruited by integrated circuit design corporation in Southern California.

2006: Paper cited by researchers in System on Chip Center, Toshiba Corporation (cited in IEEE Transaction on VLSI).

          Reviewer of text book: “Digital Design and Computer Architecture” by David Harris, Sarah Harris.

2005: Two previous students in my research project were recruited by Intel.

Research:                                  

Our research results are comparable to the results from other more well-funded research groups:

Published in peer reviewed IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems

Comparing with

Academy

Industry

First journal paper (IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems, May 2004)         

   
Cited 21 times in Google Scholar [accessed May.,2009]     
Citations: three are from peer reviewed journals. One is from industry (published on the IEEE Transactions on VLSI).

University of California, Davis

Intel

Second journal paper (IEEE Transaction on VLSI, Mar. 2007)

University of California, Davis

Intel

Third journal paper in press(IEEE Transaction on VLSI)

University of California, Berkeley

Toshiba

·         Our designs have attracted industry attention from Toshiba

·         More research information here

Lab Tools, Resource, Skills:The Chapman ICD Laboratory is equipped with up to date equipment and facilities to support the classroom curriculum. Each computer science class includes one or more projects that allow students to demonstrate their skills. We are especially proud of the design tools we have acquired to support the integrated circuit design classes and the senior project. Chapman is one of the few universities to offer the opportunity for students to use commercial integrated circuit design tools in the undergraduate curriculum.

          Robot, FPGA, microcontroller

 

         Lego Mindstorms NXT, using C-like programming language

         Xilinx Spartan 3E, Virtux II, using Verilog programming language

         Microcontroller: Atmel STK 500

          IC Design Tools

 

         Synopsys

         Magic VLSI Layout Tool

 

          Instruments

         Waveform Generator

         Oscilloscope

         Digital Analyzer

         Multimeter

 

          Special Equipment

         Sensors: Light, Pressure, Temperature

         Sun Blade Server

         Breadboards

         Resistors, Capacitors

 

 

          Troubleshooting Design

 

         Breakdown Large Problems to Small Ones,

         Isolate the Problem,

         Create/Use the Test Bench

         Identify and Correct Errors

         Check Message/Solution In Data Base, Help Manual, Ask Specialist Questions, Check Tutorial, FAQ, User Group, etc.

 

          Student Projects

 

         Low Power Research: Low Power Circuits

         Lego Robot

         Microcontroller Related Projects

 

 

Lab: Integrated Circuit/Embedded System Design Lab

“The performance of software systems is dramatically affected by how well software designers understand the basic hardware technologies at work in a system. Similarly, hardware designers must understand the far-reaching effects their design decisions have on software applications.” Quote by John Hennessy, President of Stanford University & David Patterson, UC Berkeley, President of ACM.      

Computer Science program in the Chapman University is unique in that it provides an opportunity fro student who are interested in how a computer works to learn all the levels of a computer(High level programming, Assembly Language, Operating System, Instruction Set Architecture, Digital Logic, Integrated Circuit).

In the Integrated Circuit Design Lab, we emphasize digital design, embedded system design, and hardware/software co-design techniques. We also conduct research in the area of low power consumption and security.

The Chapman curriculum includes coursework that covers all three basic types of computer chips.

          Microcontrollers contain the central processing unit, memory, and input/ output port on one silicon chip. Developers use “C” or assembly language to program the devices. (Chapman’s related course: CPSC 250)

 

          Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) are powerful, prefabricated, programmable digital integrated circuits. Students can design a circuit on their computer and have the application running in minutes. There is no need to solder discrete logic devices to a circuit board and manually wire them together.(Chapman’s related courses: CPSC 365, CPSC 252)

 

          Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) are chips that are custom designed to optimize the software and hardware for high speed, small size, and low power consumption. Students use Verilog/VHDL programming language to design chips to their specifications, run simulated tests to verify the design. Beginning with the Spring, 2006 semester, the plan is to have students submit their chip design to a commercial service (MOSIS) for fabrication, evaluate the properties of the finished chip, and write a report documenting the design and performance of the finished product. (Chapman’s related courses: CPSC 465, CPSC 466, CPSC 498)

The Computer: A Multi-level Perspective

A computer can be thought of as a multi-level system. The human interface is at the program level. The instructions are carried out at the fundamental integrated circuit level. Chapman’s curriculum is designed to provide a solid foundation of the computer as a multi-level system. Students interested in understanding how a computer really works need to study all the levels (source: A. S. Tanenbaum).

Level

Description

Chapman Courses

5

Program Oriented Language

CPSC 230/231, 350, 353, 354, 402, 408

4

Assembly Language

CPSC 250

3

Operating System

CPSC 380

2

Instruction Set Architecture

CPSC 351 252

1

Digital Logic

CPSC 330 365, 366

0

Integrated Circuit

CPSC 465, 466, 498

http://www1.chapman.edu/~zhao/index.htm