NDSU electrical & computer engineering professor Uma Tida receives NSF CAREER Award
03/05/2025
North Dakota State University assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering Umamaheswara Rao Tida received a U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. The grant focuses on advancing a design automation framework for 3D integrated circuits (3D ICs), utilizing a Bulk-Substrate monolithic process and ultra-thin selective substrate Monolithic 3D integrated circuits (M3D-ICs) technology. The aim is to create more efficient, reliable and compact computer designs while addressing crucial issues that impact performance, manufacturability and integration.
“The seamless integration of wide range of components, such as sensors, logic, memory, and even power management systems, on a single M3D integrated chip could lead to dramatic improvements in the performance of wearables, gaming systems, and even machine learning infrastructure,” Tida said.
He added that while the technology is being developed and tested, it isn’t actually available yet. However, monolithic 3D integration could lead to ultra-compact wearables with greater processing power and functionality, enhancing user interaction and health monitoring. In gaming environments, it would enable more immersive experiences by offering higher performance in smaller, more efficient systems. For machine learning, this technology could reduce latency and power consumption, improving real-time, large-scale computations and advancing smart devices in daily life.
"We are incredibly proud to see Dr. Tida receive a prestigious NSF CAREER Award for his groundbreaking research in monolithic three-dimensional integrated circuits,” said Alan Kallmeyer, NDSU interim Dean of engineering. This recognition underscores the innovative work happening at NDSU and highlights our commitment to advancing cutting-edge technology. The impact of this research extends beyond the university—it has the potential to drive advancements in semiconductor technology, benefiting industries in North Dakota and beyond. Moreover, the project's strong educational component will inspire and equip the next generation of engineers with the skills needed to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.”
Tida’s research interest and pursuits started when he was a child in Mangalagiri, a small town in India. His father was a law professor and his mother was a high school teacher and their influences on Tida’s educational path laid the foundation for his future research efforts.
He received his bachelors of technology degree in electronics and communications from V.R. Siddhartha Engineering College (affiliated with Acharya Nagarjuna University). He then added a master’s at Missouri University of Science and Technology and received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Notre Dame. Among his research topics was 3D integrated circuits, which are built by stacking different chips and wafers vertically in a single package. Because of the increasing demands for data compute, this allows more processing in a smaller area at low power.
“My graduate research was all about exploring methods to build efficient 3-dimensional integrated circuits while optimizing the designs to realize compact and energy-efficient on-chip circuit constructs,” Tida said. “During this time, I learned how to think critically, especially looking at the extremes to realize the need for optimization, thanks to my advisor Dr. Yiyu Shi. I thank my faculty and peers at both University of Notre Dame and Missouri S&T that helped me learn many important things throughout my journey as a graduate researcher.”
The knowledge gained in his research history built the foundation for his current research at NDSU.
“The research problems I tried to tackle during my time at NDSU can be seen as an interplay between machine learning and integrated circuit design and the methodologies and algorithms I’ve developed during this time are being applied to other fields specifically biomedical engineering, agriculture and transportation,” Tida said. “The major theme of my research is trying to answer two questions: First, how can I build an efficient computer that runs machine learning algorithms for solving current problems in real-time. And second, how can I develop machine learning algorithms to design or automate the computer design aspects which are known to be complex and time-consuming?”
Madhava Sarma Vemuri is an assistant professor in the school of STEM at the University of Washington-Bothell. He earned his Ph.D. from NDSU in 2024 in electrical and computer engineering and Tida served as his advisor. "Working with Dr. Tida has been one of the most transformative experiences of my life,” Vemuri commented. “He has always prioritized his students' needs and made sure we had the necessary resources for the successful completion of the research project. He was always mindful of the project's goals from day one. I can't think of any other professor more deserving than Dr. Tida for this NSF CAREER award."
Tida is involved with one of the NDSU Food, Energy and Water Security projects, working on developing infrastructure to utilize machine learning for various applications. The project team is working to simplify the process of selecting the right machine-learning algorithm for a specific task. Tida said the group is also employing machine-learning algorithms to model a sensor’s behavior and structure, allowing the sensor to be fine-tuned which will help maximize efficiency.
“All these projects can be treated as a way to drive innovation in precision agriculture and monitoring that eventually lead to productivity and cost-reduction,” Tida said.
The advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) larger language models are helping to advance the research and technology at a faster pace.
“I believe it is a wonderful time to research machine learning and monolithic 3D integration interplay,” Tida said. “There are some critical gaps that our team has found for monolithic 3D chip integration to become reliable and efficient. I am excited to see what’s ahead through in this research direction, which has also paved a way to spread my research lab’s wings in many directions.”
“Dr. Tida’s award is outstanding recognition for him and for NDSU’s engineering department’s research,” said Colleen Fitzgerald, NDSU vice president for research and creative activity. “His work in the computer and engineering field has the potential to make a major impact on performance, manufacturability and integration of future products.”
Tida sees the NSF Award in two ways: first, as recognition for research he’s done, and also a chance to continue doing research with IC technology.
“I feel happy to obtain this prestigious award,” Tida said. “It motivates me to become a better researcher and educator. With this award, I will investigate potential problems/opportunities associated with the next-generation IC technology such as monolithic 3D integration and develop methodologies to address problems and effectively utilize opportunities for high performance and small ICs. This technology will allow for the design of computers that meets the needs of performance required for many real-world applications such as complex decision making by the computer in real time.”
Tida’s CAREER award is entitled “Process Technology-based Electronic Design Automation Framework Development for Efficient Monolithic 3D Integration” and is funded by NSF Award 2443244.
The NDSU Food, Energy and Water Security (FEWS) initiative projects receive funding from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service.