Description
Position Overview
About FutureTech:
MIT FutureTech is an interdisciplinary group of computer scientists, engineers, and economists who study the foundations of progress in computing and Artificial Intelligence: the trends, implications, opportunities and risks. Economic and social change is underpinned by advances in computing: for instance, improvements in the miniaturization of integrated circuits, the discovery and refinement of algorithms, and the development and diffusion of better software systems and processes. We aim to identify and understand the trends in computing that create opportunities or risks and help leaders in computing, scientific funding bodies, and government to respond appropriately.
About the Role:
As a Research Associate, you will be working collaboratively on projects that uncover and quantify the foundations of progress in computing: what are the most important trends, how they underpin economic productivity and growth, and how we can harness them to sustain and promote shared prosperity. Specifically, as part of a multidisciplinary research group that includes computer scientists, engineers, and economists, you will conduct cutting-edge empirical and interdisciplinary research to analyze the role and advancement of hardware and computer architectures and combine the outcomes with economic analysis to highlight progress trends. Finally, you will also collaborate with high-level researchers in the field and co-supervise the work of undergraduate students.
This role is ideal for someone with a strong technical background in one or more of the following topics: computer architectures, economics, and data science.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and conduct interdisciplinary data analyses and experiments to identify technical and economic trends based on different types of computer architectures (e.g., CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and AI Processors) and their computing/memory components
- Analyzing and identifying usage patterns of real-world machines and deriving technical and economic trends
- Co-supervise the work of undergraduate students
- Participate in workshops, conferences, and collaborations with external organizations and researchers
- Contribute to original research on the aforementioned topics
Supervision Received
This role will report to the Emanuele Del Sozzo and Neil Thompson for Futuretech. There will be opportunities to grow in this position through mentorship from senior members of the lab.
Supervision Received
This role will report to the Emanuele Del Sozzo and Neil Thompson for Futuretech. There will be opportunities to grow in this position through mentorship from senior members of the lab.
** To comply with regulations by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), the principal duties in position descriptions must be essential to the job. To identify essential functions, focus on the purpose and the result of the duties rather than the manner in which they are performed. The following definition applies: a job function is essential if removal of that function would fundamentally change the job.
Requirements
Qualifications & Skills
Required:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Economics, Mathematics, or a related field
- Strong background in computer architectures, economics, data analysis, or or a related area
- Demonstrated ability to communicate technical concepts and collaborate across different areas of expertise.
- Proficiency in Python (or other languages) and experience with data analysis and scientific computing
- Strong research, writing, and communication skills
- Demonstrated ability to work independently and in a team-oriented research environment
Preferred:
In the following categories, the candidate should have deep expertise in one or more areas and some expertise / experience across as many of the others as possible:
- Computer hardware and systems
- Economics of innovation / economic growth
- Economics of I.T. / A.I.
- Data analysis
- Use of computing in science
- Deep Learning / Machine Learning
- Previous experience with interdisciplinary teams/research
- Strong competencies with relevant programming languages (such as Python or R)
The position is based within the Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory on site in
Cambridge, MA. There is the expectation that individuals will primarily work on site, taking part in regular meetings, work and contributing to the wider group in person.
