As advanced computers get faster and more complex, the need for more efficient power supplies is crucial to the industry's future, and Cornell researchers are staying ahead of the curve.

Cornell researchers led by Alyssa Apsel, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, are sharing a two-year, $685,000 Department of Energy grant to design power supplies for computers with multiple processors, or multicore systems.

Funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the project will eventually allow dynamic scaling of computer power supplies, Apsel said.

The project's principal investigators are from Columbia University and also includes researchers from IBM. The other Cornell collaborators are Edwin Kan, professor of electrical and computer engineering; and Bruce van Dover, professor of materials science and engineering.

The idea is to design power supplies that can be efficient and, more importantly, be integrated into the processor itself -- a fundamental difference from the way computers are built today.

"Currently power supplies are not typically on the same chip as the processor," Apsel said. "There is an efficiency loss in that because you have to bring the power onto the chip. There is also an additional cost associated with an external power supply, versus having it integrated into the same package as the processor."

Solving this problem will involve novel designs of inductors and capacitors, which are elements that store power. The researchers plan to develop better storage elements and circuits that work together to build simple, efficient power supplies. The power supplies consist of switches, control circuits and storage elements, including batteries.

The researchers not only want to integrate power supplies directly on the computer circuits, but also ensure that the computer circuits are efficient and capable of providing enough power to the chip.

Cornell's share of the grant will also support three graduate students. To date, Cornell has received 147 ARRA awards, totaling $110,014,270.