Software student mentors AI-HDL competition winners
Electrical and computer engineering student Sean Rice (left) says his mentor William Rains was an excellent source of support during the competition. Rains, an undergraduate software engineering student, is part of a volunteer group of U of A students acting as mentors to the AI-HDL teams.
Students have been designing semiconductor chips for smartwatches since October 2024. And last month, their work was put to the test. Engineering students from five different nations converged at the University of Arizona to participate in the first-ever Artificial Intelligence Hardware Design League (AI-HDL) competition. The inaugural competition wrapped up with the best overall design winner, the U of A team AI or Die, walking away with $5,000 from Nvidia.
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering organized the competition, which brought together students from community colleges, academic institutions worldwide, and industry leaders. Sponsors included the Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing, Institute for Computation & Data-Enabled Insight (ICDI), ECE, and chip design companies Arm and Nvidia.
“With the institute’s focus on growing Arizona’s economy and the development of novel computing technologies, the AI-HDL initiative aligns with our mission,” said Barney Maccabe, executive director of ICDI and professor in the College of Information Science. “An introduction to skills and experience in the growing semiconductor industry are part of Arizona’s future.”
Teams ranged from three to five members and were evaluated on design security, energy usage, and area efficiency. The teams also worked with mentors, some of whom hailed from their own campus.
ECE student and AI or Die team leader Sean Rice said his mentor William Rains was an excellent source of support during the competition. Rains, an SIE undergrad, was part of a volunteer group of U of A students acting as mentors to the AI-HDL teams, providing AI training and online office hours.