RISC-V Microprocessor Design

The Clay-Wolkin Fellowship of the HMC Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Research Lab has been developing the open-source CORE-V Wally microprocessor over the past six years.  The processor is featured in the RISC-V System-on-Chip Design textbook and is used by companies and researchers around the world.

We are looking to add more RISC-V features, including RVA23 application profile support as well as newer extensions. This includes vector bit manipulation and cryptography, landing pads and shadow stacks, counter filtering, double traps, indirect CSR accesses, and more.  The work involves developing a microarchitecture specification, writing SystemVerilog, debugging, logic synthesis, and optimization of area and timing.  If E85 was a favorite class and you found yourself dreaming about building microprocessors, this is a good match to your interests.  E154 System-on-Chip Design in the spring or E155 MicroPs in the fall is valuable.  Most Fellows join the lab in their sophomore year, but exceptional students of all years will be considered.  Students from all majors are encouraged to apply if they have strong interests in computer architecture.

Clay-Wolkin Fellows do research for pay or credit, most choosing pay.  Most research takes place during the academic year, and Fellows need to be able to commit about 10 hours per week to make significant contributions.  There is no research planned this summer, but most Fellows use their experience to find great internships in industry that complement their studies.