Diorio receives White House honors at ceremony today

Chris Diorio

National science and technology leaders think Chris Diorio is on to something with his research into building computers with the intelligence and adaptability of living creatures. After collecting a prestigious Packard Fellowship in late October, the UW computer science and engineering professor has now been selected to receive a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. Diorio is one of just 60 researchers nationwide who will receive the award at a White House ceremony today.

“These are the ‘Golden Globe Awards’ for the Albert Einsteins and Marie Curies of tomorrow—our nation’s most promising science and engineering educators,” says National Science Foundation Director Rita Colwell.

Established in 1996, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on researchers beginning their independent careers. The awards are intended to identify and support scientists and engineers who demonstrate potential to provide the vision and leadership necessary to preserve the nation’s world leadership in science and technology research. The awards come with a grant of $500,000 over five years. Diorio is the second UW professor to receive the award. Four UW researchers received the Presidential Faculty Fellow award, precursor to the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

“The award is important because it says that the National Science Foundation believes my work has good potential and is willing to recognize that potential with a significant grant,” Diorio says. “And it means something to be coming from the White House. I’ve only been to the White House as a tourist. It’s a wonderful opportunity to go back as an invited guest and to possibly meet the president.”

Diorio’s research focuses on developing computer circuits that employ the adaptive and learning behavior of living organisms. He already has developed transistors that can adapt their own performance output based on changes in their input signals and usage patterns. While computer systems have been developed with complex feedback loops that enable some adaptation, Diorio was the first to engineer that capability into the tiniest elements of integrated circuits. His “synapse transistors” may become the building blocks of intelligent computer systems just as individual neurons contribute to cognitive functions in the brain. He already is working on a project to develop an optical system that learns to recognize and follow objects in its field of view, similar to vision in animals and humans.

In August, Diorio was co-organizer of the second annual University of Washington/Microsoft Research Summer Institute, which this year focused on the exploration of intelligent systems from biological and computational perspectives. The institute brought together 45 top researchers from around the world to discuss ways in which biologists and computer scientists could work together to better understand intelligence in nature and how it can be incorporated into technology.

“Chris has been on an incredibly fast track since arriving at the UW,” says Ed Lazowska, chair of the UW Computer Science & Engineering Department. “The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers is extraordinary recognition and confirms that Chris is one of the finest young researchers in the nation. We’re lucky to have him.” ¶