King's, Purdue Team Up to Boost Semiconductor, AI Advances

King's has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Purdue University to collaborate on research relating to semiconductors, hardware for AI and computer chips.

Signed by Professor Shitij Kapur, Vice Chancellor of King's, and Professor Mung Chiang, President of Purdue, this agreement is a formalisation of intent to build connections between Purdue and King's. These will be centred around the newly launched Centre for Intelligent Information Processing Systems and the King's Institute for Human & Synthetic Minds, pushing semiconductor research through PhD student and staff exchange programmes.

Semiconductor technology, a vital foundation for artificial intelligence systems, has enjoyed considerable government attention on both sides of the Atlantic in the past few years with both the US and EU investing in domestic research and manufacturing. Last year, the UK announced a £1 billion strategy for its semiconductor sector, aiming to power more research and international collaboration over the next decade.

Both King's and Purdue are well positioned to lead work in this area, with King's newly launched centres consolidating over £12 million in grants on information processing and chips, working with industry partners such as Nvidia, Arm and Nokia. Purdue on the other hand is a leading research university in the US on semiconductors and electronics, and is home to the 25,000-square-foot Birck nano-fabrication cleanroom for semiconductor and nanotechnology processing.

The Department of Engineering's Professor Bipin Rajendran, one of the key figures who helped cement the partnership alongside Professor Zoran Cvetkovic and Purdue's Professor Kaushik Roy had this to say about the MoU:

"I am excited about this partnership between King's and Purdue, as it will strengthen our existing collaborations in the area of intelligent information processing systems. We hope that this will serve as a foundation to establish other joint research and education programmes within the Department of Engineering and more broadly across the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical and Engineering Sciences."

Commenting on what the partnership would mean for King's, Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi, Vice-President (Research & Innovation) said: "I am delighted that King's and Purdue have come to an agreement that gives both universities the opportunity to accelerate and expand our existing collaboration in semiconductors and AI hardware research.

"Collaboration across borders is key to driving the next stage of impactful scientific discovery that benefits all, it is why international collaboration with institutions like Purdue is a vital pillar of our research and innovation strategy at King's."

Endorsing the partnership, Professor Vijay Raghunathan, Purdue's Vice President (Global Partnerships and Programs) and Director of Semiconductor Education said: "We are pleased to partner with King's College London through this MoU to jointly pursue innovations in semiconductors, chips, and artificial intelligence-high-priority areas for Purdue University.

"As America's leading university for semiconductor workforce development and innovation, this partnership reflects our strong commitment to fostering global academic collaborations and driving innovation with like-minded partners. Purdue firmly believes that such strategic global partnerships are catalysts for worldwide impact, unlocking the potential to solve some of the most pressing challenges of our time."