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Jennifer Volk

Jennifer Volk

John D. Wiley Assistant Professor

My research focuses on leveraging the unique properties of novel technologies (like, e.g., superconductor electronics and photonics) to create highly efficient systems for next-generation domains (e.g., datacenters, neuromorphic and quantum computing, and space, satellite, and sensing systems). I take on a holistic approach, centering on circuit design and spanning materials science and computer microarchitecture, to develop solutions that fully exploit the strengths of these technologies while mitigating their drawbacks.

My work tends to follow three objectives:

Identify promising technologies: Evaluate the potential of novel technologies to outperform CMOS in specific applications.

Lower the barrier to entry: Develop new abstractions, rules, and techniques to simplify the design process for these technologies and accelerate development.

Design with the stack in mind: Co-optimize logic and circuit blocks that scale to meet the requirements of target applications.

Department

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Contact

3621, Engineering Hall
1415 Engineering Dr
Madison, WI

  • PhD 2024, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • BS 2016, University of California, Santa Cruz

  • Superconducting Logic
  • Bio-based Architectures
  • Novel Computing Mediums

  • 2025 College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, John D. Wiley Assistant Professorship
  • 2024 UC Santa Barbara, President's Dissertation Year Fellowship
  • 2023 UC Santa Barbara, UCSB Graduate Mentorship Program Fellowship
  • 2023 ASC, Best Student Paper Runner-Up
  • 2023 EECS, EECS Rising Stars
  • 2023 IEEE, IEEE CSC Graduate Study Fellowship in Appl. Supercon.
  • 2022 UC Santa Barbara, UCSB Graduate Opportunity Fellowship
  • 2022 IEEE, IEEE Micro Top Picks Honorable Mention
  • 2021 IEEE, IEEE Micro Top Picks
  • 2021 EUCAS, Invited Oral Presentation at EUCAS
  • 2020 UC Santa Barbara, UCSB ECE Department Research Fellowship

  • E C E 340 - Electronic Circuits I (Spring 2025)