Xiaobo Sharon Hu, Leo E. and Patti Ruth Linbeck Professor of Engineering in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, has received the 2024 Outstanding Technical Achievement and Leadership Award from IEEE’s Technical Community on Real-Time Systems (TCRTS).
The award citation noted Hu’s “exceptional contributions in the field of real-time scheduling theory, in particular energy and thermal-aware scheduling.”
Hu’s research has focused on optimizing task priority on computer processors to ensure that work is performed efficiently while saving energy. By making computing systems more energy-efficient, they are better able to manage heat.
The award also noted her work on elastic scheduling. With elastic scheduling, each task has a range of acceptable execution periods rather than a fixed one. This allows the system to work reliably and predictably while optimizing energy use and responsiveness.
Applications of Hu’s work include processors in mobile phones, medical devices, and anti-lock brake controllers.
Finally, the citation commended Hu, a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and of the IEEE, for fostering collaborations between software-focused researchers and hardware-oriented design automation experts.
“As modern systems grow in complexity, the interaction between hardware and software becomes increasingly intricate, making hardware-software co-design not just beneficial, but essential for achieving optimal performance and efficiency,” said Hu.
Hu’s award was presented at the 2025 Real-Time Systems Symposium held May 6-9 in Irvine, California. She delivered a lecture titled “From Systems to Hardware and Back: Unlocking the Potential of Cross-Layer Design.”
—Mary Hendriksen, Notre Dame Engineering