- November 09, 2026
- By Darcy J. Long
The University of Maryland has been awarded up to $5.7 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to lead a project to develop computer chips that could use 100 to 1,000 times less energy than current devices, running far faster and cooler as a result.
The project to develop “spintronic” logic devices is supported by the Fast and Curious program from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and led by Cheng Gong, an associate professor in electrical and computer engineering.
Instead of using electrons to carry information as an electric charge, the team is using electron spin, an intrinsic quantum-mechanical property that causes magnets to attract and repel, as the information carrier.
“This new paradigm holds the potential to minimize heat byproducts, with widespread impacts in working conditions of personal computers, workstations and data centers,” Gong said.
When an electric current, measured in amps, flows through a computer chip, the electrons bump in to the materials around them, slowing down the flow and generating heat similar to the way light bulbs radiate heat when turned on. The team proposes to use voltage instead to alter the properties of magnetoelectric materials, flipping the direction of electrons’ spin to encode information. Because current is no longer a prerequisite for this process, energy consumption can be low and operation speed can be fast.
Faster, more efficient chips are crucial for future computing demands, said Sennur Ulukus, ECE department chair.
“It is imperative that we accelerate the transition to a new generation of computing hardware. It could deliver greater energy efficiency and faster speed to meet the growing computational demands of the AI era,” she said. “I am thrilled to see that DARPA launched this ambitious initiative, and proud that Professor Gong is leading a multi-institutional team to take on this groundbreaking research.”
The growing issue of heat dissipation in electronics has presented a major challenge for years. “A new electronics technology with greater energy efficiency is a worthy goal to address in advanced computing. Professor Cheng Gong’s research agenda on efficient and fast computational hardware exemplifies our commitment to that mission,” said Clark School Dean Samuel Graham.
Don Woodbury, director of innovation and partnerships at the Clark School and a former DARPA program manager and office director, said Gong’s group has built a strong record in both fundamental physics and device innovation, which positions the team well for the project. “I am excited about Professor Gong’s DARPA award being used to advance 2D magnetoelectric materials that are being developed in UMD’s Joint Research Laboratories,” he said.