Kenneth Zick

Kenneth Zick

Kenneth Zick

Research Director - Computational Systems and Technology Division

Education

Ph.D. in Computer Science & Engineering, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
M.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of Texas at Dallas
Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Bio

Dr. Zick is the Research Director of Transformational Computing at USC ISI, leading efforts to solve problems of national importance through game-changing computing solutions including algorithms, hardware, and systems. He brings extensive experience with advanced government-funded research and from commercial industry including IBM, Motorola, and two startups. He studied under pioneer John H. Holland (genetic algorithms, complex adaptive systems) and was awarded a NASA Fellowship covering his Ph.D. work in Physically Adaptive Computing. Patented inventions include a microarchitecture that enabled the Cyrix/IBM 6x86MX microprocessor, a digital superconducting flux memory, and an asynchronous Ising machine. Dr. Zick was appointed to the Microsystems Exploratory Council in 2025.

News

September 2026: Our heuristic framework called Cosm continues to set records for speed and solution quality, harnessing the power of collective switched motion. The results are pointing to potential breakthroughs in large-scale sparse combinatorial optimization. A research paper is now available at Cosm: Collective switched motion for sparse Ising optimization. For more information and for partnering opportunities, please contact [email protected]

Collective Switched Motion for Sparse Ising Optimization chart

Research Summary

We design radically new computing systems that tackle optimization and intelligence problems beyond the reach of traditional architectures. Interests include:

  • Accelerated combinatorial optimization, Ising machines, Ising solvers
  • Quantum-inspired computing
  • AI accelerators - DARPA ScAN
  • Collective and physics-inspired computation
  • Superconducting digital processing
  • Highly parallel implementations using FPGAs, GPUs, CPUs, ASICs

Group capabilities include: binary optimization, FPGA & ASIC design, and the MOSIS Accelerated Prototyping Platform (MAPP). MAPP is a new, re-usable set of infrastructure to enable analog, RF, and digital prototyping. For more information about MAPP, please contact [email protected]. Links: USC ISI's MOSIS 2.0, California DREAMS, Microelectronics Commons

Recent Graduate Student Members

  • Akash B.
  • Aditi C.
  • Om A.
  • Arpitha N.
  • Dhyanik P.
  • Jiahui W.
  • Dorothy Q.

Congratulations to Transformational Computing intern Aditi on the USC ECE Outstanding Academic Achievement Award!