Computer Engineering Professor Christof Teuscher of Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science is not your typical computer engineer. Aside from his penchant for news-worthy physical feats of endurance, like traversing Iceland, Teuscher is dedicated to exploring and teaching about computing technologies that lie beyond the current arena of traditional semiconductors.
Teuscher's journey to the cutting edge of computer engineering took some unexpected turns. "I had no master plan," he says with a smile, recounting his path from Swiss electronics apprentice to American professor. A summer research project during his master's studies changed everything. "I didn't know anything about PhD research or even what that really was," Teuscher recalls. "So it was really opportunities that I grabbed because I had great mentors."
That serendipitous decision set Teuscher on a trajectory that led him to Portland State University (PSU), where he now heads teuscher.:Lab, a research laboratory dedicated to pushing the boundaries of computing. His research focuses on addressing the looming challenges facing the semiconductor industry, including growing the local semiconductor workforce, working to ensure equitable access to technology, the physical limits of transistor miniaturization, and the enormous energy demands of our increasingly digital world.
Teuscher acknowledges the immediate growing concerns within the industry. “[The federal funding needs] technicians, they need people who run the facilities and fix machines and whatnot, right?... That is really running the show tomorrow,” he explains. "We're looking at a totally different time frame.” Instead, his team explores radical alternatives to traditional computing, ranging from exotic materials to quantum computing and even biological systems. "You can do computation with actual DNA," he notes, illustrating the breadth of their investigations. “Now we have new projects with AI and building accelerators and more brain-inspired computers.”
In Teuscher's lab, the focus is not on incremental improvements to existing technology, but on transformative advancements. "We don't do traditional semiconductors," he explains. "We do things beyond because we want to be ready for the future." This forward-looking approach places Teuscher and his team at the vanguard of computer engineering, exploring uncharted areas in search of the next significant breakthrough. The field of possibilities is expansive and diverse. From AI accelerators to brain-inspired computing architectures, future information processing may differ significantly from today's silicon-based systems. Teuscher's work centers on a critical question: What technology will succeed the silicon transistor?
As conventional semiconductors approach their physical limits, Teuscher and his team at PSU are investigating potential successors, envisioning computing systems that transcend current limitations.The urgency of this research is highlighted by concerning projections. "If we continue to grow our computing resources and we don't optimize for power better, we will hit the world's energy consumption sometime around 2040 or something like that," Teuscher cautions. This impending energy challenge has spurred a concerted effort to develop more efficient computing technologies, with implications extending far beyond academia.
In the classroom, Teuscher is equally forward-thinking. He emphasizes the need for a broader skill set in engineering education, one that includes ethics and communication alongside technical expertise. "Suddenly, you have to be an ethicist, basically," he observes, reflecting on the moral quandaries posed by artificial intelligence and autonomous systems. Teuscher's lab is a hub of interdisciplinary collaboration, welcoming students from diverse backgrounds including engineering, computer science, physics, and even chemistry and biology. He values curiosity and willingness to learn over traditional academic metrics. "I'm looking for students who are willing and able to invest time and energy into learning new things," he says. “I’m not interested in a high GPA student or anything like that. The professor's approach to research mirrors his philosophy on education: embrace failure as part of the process. "We're exploring a lot of things that end up being a dead end," he admits. "Very few things are successful. And so you really have to be very, very resistant to these setbacks." This attitude extends to his advice for students, encouraging them to be flexible in their career plans and to seize unexpected opportunities. Teuscher sees failure as an essential part of pushing boundaries.
Amid the technical challenges, Teuscher remains keenly aware of the human aspect in technological progress. His teaching emphasizes ethical considerations and soft skills alongside technical proficiency. "Students need to learn to use these tools," he asserts, referring to rapid advancements in AI and related technologies. "We can't just prevent them. That's not working anyway." This comprehensive approach to engineering education reflects a broader shift in the field. As technology becomes increasingly integrated into every facet of human life, engineers must address complex ethical questions and societal implications.
Teuscher's work at PSU is part of a larger effort to position the university as a center for cutting-edge research. While acknowledging the challenges of competing with larger, better-funded institutions, he sees unique opportunities in Maseeh College’s role as a "school of access," providing research experiences to a diverse student body.
Despite the challenges, Teuscher remains optimistic about technology's potential to solve societal problems. His work at Maseeh College is part of a larger effort to position PSU as a center for cutting-edge research, providing opportunities to a diverse student body. As the computing world grapples with the limits of current technologies, Teuscher and his lab at Maseeh prepare for the next phase of computing. Their work, simultaneously deeply technical and profoundly human, will help shape the technological landscape for years to come.