Faculty Profiles

A major focus of Prof. Lin's work is the efficient implementations of networked systems, mobile processors, and AI systems, all of which employ sophisticated algorithms that typically have enormous computational needs. Often, programmability is a key requirement in these architectures. However, programmability, high-performance, and energy efficiency are often conflicting objectives. Moreover, industry can no longer rely on Moore’s law and Denard scaling to address performance and energy efficiency demands. Prof. Lin’s research tackle these problems through innovative specialized processor architectures, novel co-design of algorithms and hardware, and effective use of emerging technologies. Prof. Lin also works design methodologies and design automation tools in support of these hardware design challenges.

Capsule Bio:

Prof. Bill Lin joined UC San Diego in 1997. He is currently the Associate Dean for Research in the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California San Diego, and a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering . He is also a Principal Investigator in the Center for Wireless Communications and the Center for Networked Systems at UC San Diego, which are two joint industry-university partnerships for innovating future generations of wireless communications and networked systems. He was the Department Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department for 5 years from 2019-2024. He then became the Associate Dean for Strategic Programs before his current role as the Associate Dean for Research.

At UC San Diego, he has taught courses in digital logic, chip design, and computer architecture, and he has advised more than 35 graduate students and more than a dozen undergraduate students in research.

Before joining UC San Diego in 1997, he was the Head of R&D of the Systems Control and Communications Group at imec in Leuven, Belgium. imec is the world's largest independent research and innovation center for nanoelectronics and digital technology that bridges the gap between fundamental university research and industrial semiconductor manufacturing.

He is a co-inventor of 6 awarded patents and a co-author of more than 250 archival publications, primarily in premier IEEE and ACM journals and conferences. I have served as the General Chair of several premier IEEE and ACM conferences, and an Associate Editor or a Guest Editor for several premier IEEE and ACM journals. He has also been an invited keynote speaker at a number of IEEE conferences and a recipient of several Best Paper and Distinguished Paper awards at premier journals and conferences. 

He received my BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley. He has been a Jacobs Family Fellow and a Hellman Fellow at UC San Diego.