Abstract: Research in computer architecture has predominantly emphasized technical innovation, focusing on speed, execution time, power consumption, security, and reliability. While this technical focus has driven advancements in the field, it has also led to increasingly complex chip designs, creating a bottleneck for further innovation. One critical aspect often overlooked is explainability—the ability to comprehend mechanisms without excessive analysis. This gap in understanding is a primary root cause for various issues in hardware designs, including correctness bugs, performance bottlenecks, security vulnerabilities, reliability weak points, and sustainability concerns. We believe that rather than solely relying on technical advancement, the community needs to consider the relationship between computers and the architects who design them. It is essential to understand how computer architects work and design developer-friendly tools to facilitate their design. In this talk, Dr. Sun will discuss his research on building developer-friendly tools for computer architects, including the Akita simulator engine, AkitaRTM—the real-time monitoring tool for Akita, and Daisen—the visualization tool for Akita.

Short Bio: Dr. Yifan Sun is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at William & Mary. Dr. Sun received my Ph.D. degree in Computer Engineering from Northeastern University and an MS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University at Buffalo. His research spans computer architecture, data visualization, and human-computer interaction.