Electrical and Computer Faculty Candidate Engineering Seminar
Nishil Talati
Assistant Research Scientist, University of Michigan
Thursday, April 17, 2025, 11:00 am-12:00 pm
B02 CSL Auditorium or Online via Zoom
Title: Co-Design for the AI Era: From
Traditional Systems to Generative AI
Abstract: Modern
applications, including Generative AI, are pushing computing to its limits,
demanding more efficient hardware and software than ever before. Traditionally,
optimizations have been siloed: focusing on either applications, software, or
hardware in isolation. However, to sustainably scale performance and energy
efficiency of AI-based applications, we must rethink system design
holistically, embracing co-design across the stack to unlock new levels of
efficiency. In this talk, I will present two of our works that exemplify this
co-design philosophy. First, I will introduce Prodigy, a hardware-software
co-design that accelerates classical workloads like graph analytics and
scientific computing by rethinking the interface between software and hardware.
Next, I will present MoDM, which applies application-system co-design to
diffusion model inference, enabling dynamic trade-offs between performance and
image quality using a mixture of models. Together, these works showcase how
reimagining system design across abstraction layers can drive breakthroughs in
both traditional and AI-driven computing. I will conclude by outlining my
vision for the next frontier in AI-era computing: leveraging co-design to push
beyond the limits of today's systems.
Nishil Talati is an Assistant Research Scientist in the CSE department at the
University of Michigan, where he also earned his PhD. His research focuses on
computer architecture and systems software design to enhance the efficiency of
modern data-driven applications. Nishil’s work has been featured in top-tier
venues such as ISCA, MICRO, HPCA, ASPLOS, and VLDB, and has made a significant
impact through industry tech-transfers, inspiring follow-up research, and
earning several accolades. These include the IEEE computing’s top 30 early
career professional award, 2021 HPCA Best Paper Award, honorable best paper
mentions at DATE 2023 and IISWC 2023, recognition as a 2023 ProQuest
Distinguished Dissertation Award finalist, and the Best Faculty Research Pitch
Award at MIDAS event in 2023.