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Rice computer engineer named to MIT Technology
Review's TR35
Other topics:
Nanotechnology Conference
Aug. 19, 2008
Koushanfar recognized for innovations to protect microchips
HOUSTON - Rice University's Farinaz Koushanfar, assistant
professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been
named to MIT Technology Review magazine's coveted 2008 list
of the world's 35 Top Young Innovators. Koushanfar was
recognized for developing new techniques that microchip
designers can use to fight hardware piracy, a growing
problem that's already believed to cost chipmakers several
billion dollars per year. |
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The annual MIT TR35 list recognizes accomplished individuals
under age 35 whose cutting-edge research exemplifies the
spirit of innovation. The 35 are chosen from a field of more
than 300 nominees. They come from disciplines as diverse as
biotechnology, medicine, computing and nanotechnology.
"In two short years at Rice, Dr. Koushanfar has firmly
established herself as a leader in her field," said Rice
President David Leebron. "Her work will make computers more
secure and efficient for people all around the world, and
she is richly deserving of Technology Review's prestigious
TR35 honor."
Last year, Koushanfar published a new method that allows
chip designers to lock and remotely activate chips with a
unique ID tag. The method exploits the inherent, miniscule
and unclonable variations that occur between the individual
microchips that are printed from the same blueprints. In
some cases, these variations are so slight they amount to
just a few atoms that are out of place. With Koushanfar's
chip-locking technology, only a chip's patent holder can
decipher the unique key and activate the chip -- meaning
knockoffs and stolen chips are worthless to pirates. The
work is being extensively expanded to create higher-level
security mechanisms, chips with multiple personalities and
third-party intellectual property protection and reuse.
TR35 award winners are selected by Technology Review's
editors and a panel of independent judges from major
institutions and corporations such as MIT, BP, Digg,
Del.icio.us, IBM Watson Research Center, Xerox Corp., and
Princeton, Yale and Texas A&M universities.
"The TR35 honors young innovators for accomplishments that
are poised to have a dramatic impact on the world as we know
it," said Jason Pontin, editor-in-chief and publisher of
Technology Review magazine. "We celebrate their success and
look forward to their continued advancement of technology in
their respective fields."
Koushanfar and the other
TR35 winners will be featured in the September issue of
Technology Review magazine and honored at Technology
Review's EmTech08 Conference to be held at MIT in Cambridge,
Mass., Sept. 23-25. |
