Prof. Dr. Samarjit Chakraborty

Profile

Academic positionFull Professor
Research fieldsComputer Architecture and Embedded Systems
KeywordsCyber-physical systems, Real-time systems, Embedded systems, Automotive embedded systems, Embedded software

Current contact address

CountryUnited States of America
CityChapel Hill
InstitutionUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
InstituteDepartment of Computer Science

Host during sponsorship

Prof. Dr. Ulrich BartoschUniversität Passau, Passau

Program(s)

2022Alexander von Humboldt Professorship

Nominator's project description

Sustainable computing How can the delivery of goods by drones be made sustainable in the future? Since batteries age over time and need to be disposed or recycled, how should the batteries used in these drones be charged to combine efficiency and sustainability? Answers to such questions require the kind of interdisciplinary approach Samarjit Chakraborty has been pursuing for years. His research area ranges from real-time, embedded and cyber-physical systems to software design and battery management. When designing real-time systems, such as software controlling the engine or brakes in a car, he also has an eye on how to enhance the reliability and the longevity of the electronics and processors on which such software runs. In addition to developing new electronic architectures and software for electric vehicles (EVs), new battery management systems and methods for reducing battery ageing are central to Chakraborty's research. His research group has developed novel algorithms for equalising the electrical charge in different cells of a battery pack, in order to increase its usability. Using “intelligent cells” where each cell is equipped with sensors and communication interfaces, his group has proposed modular battery packs for EVs that would reduce the cost of batteries and make EVs more affordable in the future. Batteries made with such intelligent cells can also be recycled and even reused more cost effectively, thereby promoting sustainability. Chakraborty has also worked on mobile devices, such as smartphones, and has developed new power management strategies for applications ranging from computer games to web browsers running on them. Such strategies, along with intelligent battery chargers, not only improve the battery life of phones, but increase their overall usable life by slowing battery ageing. Other successes from his research – that improve sustainability – are in the domain of healthcare. His group has developed new affordable medical devices, and wireless communication protocols for better contact tracing of contagious diseases like Covid-19. With the Humboldt Professorship at the University of Passau, Chakraborty will work at the intersection of computer science and engineering in order to continue his research on sustainable computer technologies and software solutions. The newly created Chair of Sustainable Computing will complete the portfolio of research in the Faculty of Computer Science and Mathematics, in line with the university’s institutional mission of sustainable development, digitisation and global transformation.