Michael O'Boyle


Professor
PhD, University of Manchester, 1992
Email: mob at inf dot ed dot ac dot uk
Phone: 0131 650 5117

NEW: PhD Studentship Available

A PhD studentship to study Adaptive Parallel Optimising Compilation using Machine Learning is available from September 2009. Look here here for general information about applying to study for a PhD or MSc in Informatics at Edinburgh.

Research Interests

The primary research question I am interested in is: how can compiler technology best exploit the potential of high performance architectures? Recently we have developed innovative approaches to this problem using machine learning where it outperforms hand designed approaches. I am interested in their interaction with architecture and in particular compiler/architecture co-design . My research interests include:

  • Adaptive compilation. Compilers are unable to keep up with the sustained evolution of computer architecture. I am working on techniques which allow the compiler to learn about the underlying parallel architecture by exploring a transformation based optimisation space.
  • Machine learning based Optimisation. I'm interested in how predictive modelling and feature generation can be used to automate the design of compilers
  • Developing these ideas in MilePost
  • Compiler/Architecure co-design space exploration. We are investigating the use of predictive models to predict the best compiler optimisations for any architecture
  • Auto-parallelising compilers. This is a tough problem. I am currently investigating the use of dynamic, probabilistic analysis in conjunction with machine learning to develop a new approach that gives future proof scalable code for multi-cores.
  • Heterogeneous and GPGPU multi-core platforms. I am interested in how we can use smart compiler analysis and adaptation to exploit the potential of such architectures.
  • Very High level programming languages. I am interested in how languages such as Matlab, which provide great expressive power may be implemented on mult-cores

    • I am a member of the Compiler and Architecture Design Group.
    Coordinator of MilePost
    Steering Committee and Partner of HiPEAC Network of Excellence
    Steering Committee and Partner of SARC

    A list of my publications, and a brief biography

    Program Chair HiPEAC 2009
    Steering Committee CPC
    Programme Committee Member ACM PACT 2009
    Programme Committee Member ACM CGO 2009

    Students and Postdocs

  • Tim Jones Royal Academy of Engineering / EPSRC Research Fellow
  • John Thomson RA
  • Christophe Dubach RA
  • Hugh Leather PhD Student
  • Zheng Wang PhD student

    • Prospective PhD Students

    I am interested in supervising PhD students in any of the above research areas. For further details, please use the contact information at the top of this page