WELCOME!
My name is Mike Wilkins, and I am a Computer Engineering Ph.D. student at Northwestern University co-advised by Dr. Peter Dinda and Dr. Nikos Hardavellas. I am also a visiting student at Argonne National Laboratory co-advised by Yanfei Guo and Rajeev Thakur. My research aims to improve the programming experience for high-performance computing systems. Below you will find details regarding my experiences and current/past projects.
EDUCATION
PH.D. COMPUTER ENGINEERING, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Expected: 2024
2019-2020 Royal E. Cabell Fellow
Co-advised by Peter Dinda and Nikos Hardavellas
B.S. COMPUTER ENGINEERING, ROSE-HULMAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
2019
GPA: 3.93
Class of 1940 Endowed Scholarship Recipient
Graduated Summa Cum Laude
RESEARCH PROJECTS
FACT-BASED MPI COLLECTIVE AUTOTUNING
Ongoing
Designed a machine-learning autotuner that automatically selects the optimal MPI collective algorithm
Created multiple optimizations to make ML-based MPI autotuning feasible on large scale systems
WARDEN: SPECIALIZING CACHE COHERENCE FOR HIGH-LEVEL PARALLEL LANGUAGES
Ongoing
Identified a low-level memory property called WARD that can be introduced by construction in high-level parallel programs.
Implemented a custom cache coherence protocol in the Sniper architectural simulator and found an average speedup of 1.46 across the PBBS benchmark suite.
DEVELOPING COMPUTATIONAL ARCHITECTURES (DECA)
2017-2019
Developed DeCA: a platform that enables application researchers to prototype FPGA accelerator designs through industry-standard tools and custom software
Created a custom FPGA accelerator using DeCA for a neuroscience application to showcase the platform’s capabilities; achieved 1.5x speedup
INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
ENGINEERING LEADERSHIP PROGRAM (ELP) INTERN, NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS
Summer 2018
Engaged with technical leaders through field presentations to top technology companies in the Seattle area
Assisted customers to design and troubleshoot data-acquisition applications using NI platforms
TRAILBLAZER INTERN, FLEXWARE INNOVATION
Summer 2017
Designed an innovative RFID tracking solution to repair a malfunctioning inventory locating system
Produced a full-stack BI database solution analyzing internal employee and revenue data
DIRECTOR OF TOOL SERVICES, POWER SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL
Summer 2016
Organized and managed the company’s inventory of CNC machining tools, valued at more than $500,000
Trained company technicians on new processes and managed tool services employees
PUBLICATIONS
"A FACT-BASED APPROACH: MAKING MACHINE LEARNING COLLECTIVE AUTOTUNING FEASIBLE ON EXASCALE SYSTEMS"
Michael Wilkins, Yanfei Guo, Rajeev Thakur, Nikos Hardavellas, Peter Dinda, Min Si
ExaMPI21: Workshop on Exascale MPI
TECHNICAL SKILLS
SOFTWARE LANGUAGES
C, C++, Python, Java, C#, LabVIEW, SQL
HARDWARE DESCRIPTION LANGUAGES
Verilog, VHDL, Chisel, SPICE
SIMULATION/TOOLS
Sniper, gem5, Xilinx Vivado, Xilinx ISE, Quartus II, Modelsim, Multisim
LEADERSHIP
TREASURER, PI KAPPA ALPHA FRATERNITY IOTA DELTA CHAPTER
2017-2019
Drafted and managed a budget of over $400,000 across two school years while completing initiatives to increase payment collection and digitize fiduciary practices
PRESIDENT, ROSE-HULMAN BOWLING CLUB
2016-2019
Restructured the club’s leadership and daily operation; increased membership by 300%
FOUNDER/PRESIDENT, MOOSEHEART TUTORING PROGRAM
2014-2016
Began program to tutor orphaned students at Mooseheart Child City; after 3 years of growth, had 45 students and 24 tutors meeting twice a week