Credit point: 2.0
The energy required to operate and manufacture computing infrastructure and devices, together with the pollution associated with their production, is growing at an alarming and unsustainable pace. This research seminar covers different aspects of the sustainability of modern computing (systems) including energy and decarbonization of servers, cloud, storage, AI, datacentres, edge devices, etc.
Registration:https://forms.gle/Yw2xbaTWVpf9y7rw8
Questions: email uaviadzatcs.technion.ac.il
Summary: grading & expectations
Active participation (10%): regular participation in class in a curious& positive manner. Unjustified absences will reduce points.
Research proposal presentation (20%): in groups of 2 students you will submit and present a short one-page research proposal related to sustainable computing, graded by your fellow students.
Individual paper presentation (70%): present one full conference paper/two short workshop papers.
Prerequisites: Operating Systems (234123).Further knowledge in operating systems and computer architecture will help to understand the topics presented.
Active participation
You are expected to regularly raise an idea or questions that demonstrate interest in the topic and shown results, constructive thinking on potential follow-ups, etc.
Individual paper presentation
Each student gives one individual presentation (one class = one student) on one full paper (or two short papers, 20 min each). I will publish the syllabus and election form close to semester’s start.
Time frame:
• Full paper: 40–45 min presentation + 5 min questions
• Two short papers: 22 min per paper + 3 min questions per-paper
What I expect from presenters
• Try to enjoy. Boredom is the enemy of learning
• Arrive early, set up, start on time, finish on time. Rehearse multiple times to ensure you’re on time
• Explain paper’s claims (consider stating the innovation highlights early on)
• Explain required background (if necessary)
• Clearly explain each important figure (setup, axes, whether higher is better, takeaways)
• If equations are necessary: slowly walk through them
• Highlight paper’s strengths, weaknesses, and open questions— apply critical thinking, e.g., claims from industry carry different weight
• Engage the audience occassionally to keep people listening (e.g., questions, short checks, visuals)
• Practice beforehand (ideally in front of someone)
• Golden rule: aim for ~4 one-line bullets per slide; avoid dense text that no one reads
You won’t be penalized for minor speech stumbles or using notes to alleviate stress; points will be reduced for not rehearsing, significantly running over time, failing to explain the paper’s claims/figures, and copy-pasting paper text to slides.
Research Proposal Presentation
Teams of two students will give an 8–10 minute presentation, proposing a new research idea related to sustainability in computing. Presentations will be scheduled in the final classes of the semester.
Grading is based on peer evaluations, but topics must be approved by me.
Choosing a Topic: Any original idea with a plausible,potentially measurable decarbonization impact is welcome. For inspiration, browse recent work at HotCarbon (https://hotcarbon.org/).
Graduate/PhD students are encouraged to choose a topic aligned with their research.
Use Google Scholar, LLMs, etc., to help you understand whether someone has already done what you're proposing!
Proposal document format (one page, font 11, in English only)
• Names + student IDs
• Title
• Background & related work (1–2 paragraphs)
• Your proposed solution + what makes it innovative
• Methods (1-2 paragraph): planned approach, methodology,experiments, and evaluation
• Potential sustainability impact (1 paragraph): how your idea improves sustainability in computing
• Related work: (1-2 paragraphs): previous research or commercial solutions most similar or closely related to your work
• Optional appendix: one page for references + figures
• Mandatory appendix: brief summary of three main criticisms from a known LLM (of your choosing) and how you respond to them, using a critical reviewer prompt, i.e.., "You are a highly critical veteran in the field of computer science academic research. See attached a research proposal for an academic paper in computer science on the topic of sustainability in computing. Do you think this idea is interesting and could be published in a top-tier conference?explain your reasoning".
Presentation: based on the proposal. Be sure to include the main issues raised by the virtual critique and explain how you address them (or intend to)
Grading
• Mostly based on evaluation forms filled out by your peers (after each presentation)
• Grade determined according to summary of forms
• Anonymous input will be provided based on the forms
Important dates:
Exact dates will be published later. Expect to submit proposal around June, and present in 3 final classes