Teaching Faculty Candidate Seminar–Elba Garza

Zoom link for remote participants, passcode 899664

“Principles of Caching within the Context of Computer Hardware and Organization”

Abstract:  In this mock lecture, I present the principles of caching within the context of a computer hardware and organization course. This mock lecture presents the first 45 minutes of a typical 75 minute lecture for a semester-long course in computer organization, or the equivalent of EECS 370. This lecture assumes students’ previous exposure to the lecture’s topics via a pre-course Computer Organization and Design (6th edition, MIPS) ZyBook interactive activity; however, it is not necessary to complete or purchase for the mock lecture. Concepts are presented using in-classroom activities, and abstraction via real-life metaphors for fundamental understanding.

Bio:  Elba Garza is a final-year Computer Science PhD student at Texas A&M University working under Daniel A. Jiménez. Her work focuses on making hardware predictive structures & policies (e.g., branch prediction, prefetching, cache replacement) more resilient to evolving computing demands. She holds a BSc in Computer Science from Columbia University, and an MSc in the same from Princeton University. Her work has been featured in top-tier computer architecture conferences including ISCA and MICRO. Her research has earned accolades, including the 2020 IEEE CS Lance Stafford Larson Student Award. She was named a 2020 Rising Star in EECS and  also recently named a 2021 Google Scholar. After returning to graduate school for her PhD and seeing fellow graduate students struggle with mental health issues arising from the general toll of academic life, she helped co-found the Computer Architecture Student Association, or CASA. CASA is an independent student-run organization with the express purpose of developing and fostering a positive and inviting student community within computer architecture.