ITRI and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Signed MoU for Establishing "ITRI Lab. at CMU"

Driven by the Computer and Communications Research Laboratories (CCL) and SoC Technology Center (STC) of ITRI, ITRI signed MoU with a U.S. top-notch university, Carnegie Mellon University, for establishing "ITRI Lab. at CMU." Both parties agree to make the "ITRI Lab. at CMU" a platform for long-term collaboration of joint research. To be located on the CMU campus, this "ITRI Lab" focuses for the first two years on the security technology and SoC (System-on-a-chip) design. This collaboration has established a new win-win collaborative model for ITRI.

Witnessed by the science and technical advisor from the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), Dr. Samuel Yu, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of "ITRI Lab. at CMU" was signed by Prof. Mark S. Kamlet, the provost of CMU, and Dr. ChinTay Shih, the president of ITRI on January 20, 2003, at ITRI. Led by the provost, the CMU delegates included Prof. Pradeep K. Khosla and Prof. Tsuhan Chen, the Head and professor of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

"'ITRI Lab. at CMU' is an extraordinary breakthrough for Taiwan research institutes to establish an equal and reciprocal relationship with international renowned academic institutes. This joint lab enhances ITRI's international visibility and thus becomes a milestone in ITRI's international collaboration", said Dr. ChinTay Shih, the president of ITRI.

Dr. Bao-Shuh Paul Lin, the General Director of CCL and STC, pointed out that CMU's expertise in SoC and its reputable research staff are great leverage for ITRI to advance design and application development of computing and communication security and SoC. By collaborating with CMU, ITRI will further develop the world-class SoC design technologies. Dr. Lin also announced the collaborative targets for the initiative stage of this program: first, to develop digital and analog circuits and related software and hardware; second, to develop computing and communication security, home appliance, and surveillance systems. The integration of Security in SoC (computing and communication security and silicon in SoC) is expected to be realized in two years. Furthermore, the fact that the IP generated from the joint lab is co-owned will accelerate the effects of this international collaboration.

Highlighting the significance of this MoU signing ceremony, Prof. Kamlet, the CMU provost, claimed "Together we will grow the lab continuously, both in terms of space/staffing/funding resources, and in terms of its technical scope. The initial focus of the Lab will be on System-on-Chip (SoC) and security technologies, extremely important technologies for both Taiwan and USA. We are also looking forward to working jointly with ITRI to identify future key technical areas, and to gain support from Taiwan government, for the years to come. By lending CMU's expertise in echnology and innovation, we believe that we will contribute significantly to future technology developments in Taiwan and in Asia. We want to help promote Taiwan to the next level: from a country leading the world in manufacturing in electronics and computing, to a country leading the world in designs and intellectual properties."