Design in Motion: Specialization as an Ongoing Architectural Journey Emerging Frontiers in Computer Architecture and Systems Seminar Date: Apr 8, 2026, 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm Location: B205 Engineering Quadrangle Speaker: Martha Kim, Columbia University Abstract For decades, computing advanced through Moore’s Law and Larus’ virtuous cycle, where hardware improvements automatically accelerated existing software, enabling higher abstraction and continuously fueling demand for faster chips. However, as emerging workloads like deep learning outstrip general-purpose CPU capabilities, the industry increasingly turns to specialized accelerators that sacrifice generality for performance, introducing fragmented programming models, scarce expertise requirements, and complex system integration challenges. As a result, while accelerators deliver significant speedups, they also create a less-virtuous cycle in which software brittleness, high development costs, and rapid workload evolution risk rendering even highly optimized hardware obsolete. There is a strong and understandable predisposition to design accelerators in an ad hoc, reactive manner, but this limits the architecture community’s ability to systematically shape long-term computing trends. Without a structured understanding of acceleration dynamics, it is difficult to anticipate end states, evaluate tradeoffs, or avoid wasted design effort. This talk will present a simple model of the acceleration process, grounded in practical experience, to enable more proactive and principled decisions that steer innovation toward sustainable and virtuous outcomes. Bio Martha Kim is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University. Kim leads the ARCADE Lab where she conducts research in computer architecture, parallel programming, compilers, and low-power computing. Her work has explored low-cost chip manufacturing systems, reconfigurable communication networks, and fine-grained parallel application profiling techniques. Kim holds a PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Washington and a bachelors in Computer Science from Harvard University.