Jeffrey La Coss (photo)
Project Leader,
University of Southern California
Information Sciences Institute

USC/Information Sciences Institute
4676 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
U.S.A.
Voice: (310) 822-1511 x88235
FAX: (310) 823-6714
email: jlacoss@isi.edu

I sweated blood for a B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering from UCLA. For no particularly good reason, I bought into Lifetime Membership in the UCLA Alumni Association. I'm also a member of the IEEE Computer Society and the Society for Neuroscience.

I'm currently involved in researching a few areas in ultra-low-power computing systems. My application areas for this technology are

  • distribured sensing and control
  • environmental power harvesting and scavenging
  • prosthetic devices to repair brain injury.

    • In the past I've been involved in:
  • VICAT (VLSI Implementation of CA3) has built several electronical devices which have been used to replace neural populations in the CA3 region of rat hippocampus. Hippocampus is the brain structure that transforms experience to long-term memory (learning). CA3 degeneration is frequently seen in the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
  • MONARCH (Morphable Networked Architecture) is a very high performance processing architecture for high data rate real-time processing applications such as radar and other sensors. 64 GFLOPS from a 333 MHz clock, and a mile of wiring on a 18.5 x 18.5 mm 90 nm die.
  • COGENT (Cognitive Engine Technology) was a program to develop a top-to-bottom approach to cognitive processing, with a focus on non-traditional computing platforms. I opened my mouth first, and became the principal system architect. DARPA canceled the program, but it was an interesting look at why cognitive systems are so slow...
  • Project Leader of the GloMo Universal Modular Packaging System (GUMPS) and
  • Advanced Production Technologies (APT) projects of the Advanced Systems Division at USC/ISI.

    • In addition to project management responsibilities, my engineering contributions to these programs are at all levels of systems design and packaging.
    During the mid-'70s, I worked for Informer, Inc., a small manufacturer of computer terminals in the dark days before the advent of personal computers, workstations and networks. Long defunct, Informer was a start-up that provided an invaluable hands-on engineering training environment when the ol' alma mater failed to deliver relevant (or practical) courses in computer design techniques. I returned to formal schooling only after the CS&E major was offered.

    My other interests include reading a good book, wine tasting, wood-working (1, 2), single-malt whisky (Coming soon: notes on American whiskies), acoustic guitar (I struggle with the transition from "beginner" to "bad" player), and cycling on my track bike. NB: I was 'way ahead of the fixed-gear trend, having wrecked my first track bike in 1978 - I was rear-ended by some hit-and-run idiot whilst riding on Pacific Coast Highway in N. Santa Monica. I paid $500 for my Schwinn Paramount track bike in 1973 - that was some serious bank in them thar days...
    I also spent a fair amount of time in the past coaching my daughter's softball teams. Fun, but she moved on.
    (Fortunately, these activities are all individually very enjoyable, because no two can be properly performed simultaneously, and none of them are in any way remunerative. Besides, table saws and Macallan Cask Strength don't mix...)
    Some personal philosophy.
    Some humor.
    Palm/Treo users should download a copy of the Constitution of the United States of America for eReader. It seems to me that, in this troubled millenium, everyone should have this most precious of documents available for quick reference. I've provided a table of contents to speed access.
    I've also built up a few books, a couple CDs, and a few DVDs over the years. These groovy catalogs were built with tools from Collectorz.com (I have no affiliation, but I like the way their programs work).