Mastering the challenge of optoelectronic computing

We discuss the research on optoelectronic computing systems that is being conducted in one of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering Research Centers. The center, now in its sixth year as a NSF Engineering Research Center, is located at the University of Colorado in Boulder and Colorado State University in Fon Collins. We focus on the contributions that an Engineering Research Center can make to research, education. and technology transfer because of its interdisciplinary nature, its focus on systems, and its involvement with industries active in the field of interest to the Center. We describe the mission, vision. the research goals, and the structure of the Optoelectronic Computing Systems Center to demonstrate how the Center provides a powerful cross·disciplinary framework within which to conduct important research in the field of optoelectronic computing. Several unique research issues that are being pursued at the Center are discussed. Examples of these issues are new neural network algorithms that are specifically tailored to the application of optics in the design of neural network computing machines, speed·of.light digital computer architectures in which the infonnation is in constant motion and is never static or stored in a latching memory, and ferroelectric liquid crystal materials that are tailored for use in spatial light modulators and optoelectronic neural computing systems. The paper also explores the impact of the Center on education at the two universities.