CV

General Information

Full Name Ashkan Moradifirouzabadi
Email ashkan [at] ucsd [dot] edu
Location La Jolla, CA
Google Scholar i7vjNG4AAAAJ
LinkedIn ashkan-moradi-fir98

Research Interests

  • Hardware-algorithm co-design
  • LLM optimization
  • In-memory computing
  • VLSI
  • Computer architecture

Education

  • Jan 2022 - Present
    Ph.D. in Computer Engineering
    University of California, San Diego
    • Expected graduation: Mar 2027
    • GPA: 4.00/4.00
    • Advisor: Prof. Mingu Kang
  • Jan 2022 - Mar 2024
    M.S. in Computer Engineering
    University of California, San Diego
    • GPA: 4.00/4.00
    • Advisor: Prof. Mingu Kang
  • Sep 2016 - Feb 2021
    B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering
    University of Tehran
    • Overall GPA: 3.73/4.00
    • Major GPA: 4.00/4.00

Experience

  • Jun 2024 - Sep 2024
    Technology Research Intern
    Intel Corporation, Hillsboro, OR
    • Hardware accelerator design for large language models.
    • Manager: Ian Young
  • Jan 2022 - Present
    Research Assistant
    Vertically-integrated VLSI Information Processing (VVIP) Lab, UC San Diego
    • Developing large-scale hardware accelerators for deep learning models from architecture and algorithm design to chip fabrication.
    • PI: Prof. Mingu Kang

Publications

  • 2026
    STAR-KV Low-Rank KV Cache Compression via Soft Thresholding for Adaptive Rank Control
    Forty-third International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), Spotlight
    • Authors: Priyansh Bhatnagar*, Ashkan Moradifirouzabadi*, S. Yang, S. Lee, J. Choi, and M. Kang
  • 2024
    An Analog and Digital Hybrid Attention Accelerator for Transformers with Charge-based In-memory Computing
    IEEE 50th European Solid State Electronics Research Conference (ESSERC)
    • Authors: Ashkan Moradifirouzabadi, D. S. Dodla, and M. Kang
  • 2025
    HyAtt A Hybrid Attention Accelerator for Transformers with Analog In-memory Computing
    IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits (JSSC)
    • Authors: Ashkan Moradifirouzabadi and M. Kang
  • 2022
    Sparse Attention Acceleration with Synergistic In-memory Pruning and On-chip Recomputation
    55th IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Microarchitecture (MICRO)
    • Authors: A. Yazdanbakhsh*, Ashkan Moradifirouzabadi*, Z. Li*, and M. Kang
  • 2026
    TAILOR Token-Adaptive Low-Rank KV Cache Compression for PIM-Accelerated LLM Inference
    Under review at MICRO
    • Authors: Ashkan Moradifirouzabadi*, Priyansh Bhatnagar*, et al.
  • 2025
    End-to-end Acceleration of Generative Models with Runtime Regularized KV Cache Management
    IEEE Journal on Emerging and Selected Topics in Circuits and Systems (JETCAS)
    • Authors: Ashkan Moradifirouzabadi and M. Kang
  • 2024
    Efficient Transformer Accelerator via Reconfiguration for Encoder and Decoder Dual Modes with Sparsity-Aware Data Mapping
    ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Low Power Electronics and Design (ISLPED)
    • Authors: C. E. Song*, Ashkan Moradifirouzabadi*, T. Rosing, and M. Kang
  • 2024
    SpecPCM A Low-power PCM-based In-Memory Computing Accelerator for Full-stack Mass Spectrometry Analysis
    IEEE Journal on Exploratory Solid-State Computational Devices and Circuits (JXCDC)
    • Authors: K. Fan, Ashkan Moradifirouzabadi, et al.
  • 2025
    FeNOMS Enhancing Open Modification Spectral Library Search with In-Storage Processing of Ferroelectric NAND Flash
    International Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD)
    • Authors: S. Pinge, Ashkan Moradifirouzabadi, et al.

Technical Skills

  • Programming Languages
    • Python
    • C/C++
    • TCL
    • MATLAB
  • Machine Learning Frameworks
    • PyTorch
  • Hardware Development
    • Verilog
    • SystemVerilog
    • Cadence Innovus
    • Cadence Virtuoso
    • Synopsys Design Compiler
    • Cadence Xcelium
    • Xilinx Vivado
    • Altera Quartus
    • ModelSim
    • Altium Designer
    • PCB Artist

Selected Courses

  • ECE 260B: VLSI Integrated Circuits & Systems Design (A)
  • ECE 284: VLSI Implementation for Machine Learning (A+)
  • ECE 260C: VLSI Advanced Topics (A)
  • ECE 285: Introduction to Visual Learning (A)
  • ECE 226: Deep Learning Acceleration on Hardware (A+)
  • CSE 240A: Principles of Computer Architecture (A)
  • CSE 251A: Principles of Machine Learning - Learning Algorithms (A)
  • CSE 257: Search and Optimization (A)

Honors and Awards

  • 2022
    • UCSD Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Ph.D. Fellowship
    • IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Microarchitecture Student Travel Grant
  • 2021
    • Finalist for the Best Undergraduate Project Award, Tehran, Iran
  • 2016
    • Ranked 263rd among 160,000+ participants in the National University Entrance Exam for B.Sc.