Research
My research involves design methodologies and architectures for digital signal processing, computer
arithmetic, image processing techniques, embedded systems, and application specific processors. This includes
implementing efficient techniques and algorithms to implement DSP functions on reconfigurable hardware,
implementing complex logic functions, arithmetic operations, image processing algorithms, etc. for reconfigurable
hardware. Much of my work focuses on reconfigurable SoC in which software/hardware
co-design is necessary. I have used Xilinx SoCs and FPGAs as a hardware platform.
The nature of my diverse experience and interests has led me to integrate all the techniques and use the available EDA
tools to convert functions to FPGA and SoC friendly architectures.
My research interests consist of five interrelated tracks: the engineering of reconfigurable hardware as a common
platform for DSP functions and systems, computer arithmetic, design for low power, embedded systems, and design
optimization. These paths share much in terms, but I tend to identify individual projects as belonging exclusively
to one path or the other. In the following I’ll try to elaborate on my research interests individually.
Design Methodologies and Architectures for Reconfigurable Hardware
The bulk of my research so far has focused either efficient implementation of DSP systems mostly used in image
processing and communication systems. Factors such as power consumption, silicon area, or performance
are of concern when it comes to the implementation of these algorithms on reconfigurable hardware.
While these are central and important
problems, there are many other ways in which DSP systems can be implemented efficiently. I am
particularly interested in image processing techniques as they need tremendous amount of
parallelism (that FPGAs offer). Most of the existing systems use DSP processors which does not
offer enough bandwidth and performance that is needed. Incorporation of such knowledge into
existing systems could be sometimes difficult since they need to interface with software
applications. Modern FPGAs/SoCs offer software/hardware codesign flows by leveraging embedded
processors (either as a soft core or hard core macros). Trade-offs must be made between
representations of such systems which facilitate the understanding of several aspects of different
implementations. I believe that much can be gained by focusing on this research topic.
Embedded Systems, Microprocessors and Architectures
High Level Synthesis tools allow designers to program hardware with languages like C/ C++.
In this case, I implement several ideas using high level system languages and try to leverage high
level synthesis (HLS) tools to create netlists. Of course, HLS tools are not perfect and the
parallelism element embedded in hardware is an important factor. By tweaking the code, I try to
come up with the most efficient hardware for specific platforms. Major part of this research track
is dedicated to hardware acceleration of software algorithms.
Digital Control Systems, Microcontrollers and Applications
The field of control systems has changed dramatically in the past years. The advent of low cost
microcontrollers has enabled control algorithms to be embedded in almost every conceivable technology.
The development of sophisticated computer aided design software has enabled analysis and controller
design for complex multivariable systems. Numerous new applications for control have emerged, including
such areas as biomedical systems, robotics, production lines, and artificial intelligence. I intend
to promote this field as an extension to my previous research area to develop new state of the art
hardware and control system to make more efficient platforms.
Computer Arithmetic
Most of the arithmetic calculations on reconfigurable hardware use fixed point operations. I am
interested in modifications to such systems to allow for efficient calculations based on floating
point operations. Also computationally intensive applications are cumbersome on hardwares and
therefore I am very interested in coming
up with alternative methods to do such operations more efficiently on hardware platform.
This is especially
important in communication systems since they involve plenty of matrix operations.
Low Power Architectures
Power consumption in today’s systems is very critical. Systems that are power aware are only
beginning to be understood as more applications move toward being implemented on battery operated device.
I am interested in architectures for low power consumption and
methodologies that reduce the power consumptions of existing architectures while maintain high
performance.
Selected Publications
Verjina Torosian Khouygani, Shahnam Mirzaei, Accelerating Solar Spectra Analysis: A High-Performance FPGA Framework with Parameterized Filters, IEEE 28th IEEE Computer Society Annual Symposium on VLSI (ISVLSI), July 2025, Kalmata, Greece (pdf)
Shalmon Hermesh, Shahnam, Mirzaei, SoC Implementation of Wildfire Infrared Monitoring and Early Detection System, IEEE 45th International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS),, August 2025, Brisbane, Australia (pdf)
Raj Kumar, Shahnam, Mirzaei, Enhancing Zigbee Communication Efficiency with Optimized FELACS Data Compression Algorithm in Python for IoT and WSN Networks, IEEE 11th International Conference on Applied System Innovation (ICASI), April 2025, Tokyo, Japan (pdf)
Shahbaz Hassan Khan Malik, Shahnam Mirzaei, An Optimized FPGA Based Canny Edge Detection System Using High-Level Synthesis, IEEE 19th International System Conference (SYSCON), April 2025, Montreal, Canada (pdf)
Siam Haque, Shahnam Mirzaei, System on Chip (SoC) Security Architecture Framework for Isolated Domains Against Threats, IEEE 15th International Symposium on Hardware Oriented Security and Trust (HOST), June 2022, Washington DC, USA (pdf)
Krishna Murthy Kattiyan Ramamoorthy, Shahnam Mirzaei, Design and Implementation of IoT Based Cloud Enabled Wireless Biometric Monitoring Device, IEEE 12th Annual Information Technology, Electronics and mobile Communication Conference (IEMCON), October 2021, Vancouver, Canada (Virtual) (pdf)
Robert Morris, Shahnam Mirzaei, Efficient FPGA Implementation of Parameterized Real Time Color Based Object Tracking, IEEE 12th Annual Information Technology, Electronics and mobile Communication Conference (IEMCON), October 2021, Vancouver, Canada (Virtual) (pdf)
Verjina Torosian Khouygani, Shahnam Mirzaei, Christian Beck, Debi Prasad Choudhary, An FPGA Based Hardware Accelerated Framework for Solar Spectra Matching with Parameterized Matched Filter IP Core, IEEE 29th International Symposium on Field Programmable Custom Computing Machines (FCCM), May 2021, Orlando, Florida (Virtual) (pdf)
Sarkis Semerjian, Yin Fung Khong, Shahnam Mirzaei, White Blood Cells Classification Using Built-in Customizable Trained Convolutional Neural Network, 3rd IEEE International Conference on Emerging Smart Computing and Informatics (ESCI), March 2021, Pune, India (Virtual) (pdf)
Kris Min, Shahnam Mirzaei, Brenda Ly, Joshua Garner, A Novel Method for Hardware Acceleration of Convex Hull Algorithm on Reconfigurable Hardware, IEEE 33rd International System on Chip Conference (SOCC), September 2020, Las Vegas, USA (Virtual) (pdf)
Yin Fung Khong, Shahnam Mirzaei, A Novel Approach for Efficient Implementation of Nucleus Detection and Segmentation Using Correlated Dual Color Space, IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC), October 2019, Bari, Italy (pdf)
Shahnam Mirzaei, Ana C. Cadavid, Vicky Pedone, An Interdisciplinary Team Based Research Initiative Through Active Learning to Increase Undergraduate Students’ Motivation, Engagement, and Retention, American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE), June 2019, Tampa, Florida, USA (pdf)
Shahnam Mirzaei, Ana C. Cadavid, Vicky Pedone, Werner Horn, Collaborative Interdisciplinary Research Through Projects From Concept To Completion, American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE), June 2018, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA (pdf) - Best Diversity Paper Award
Uzaif Sharif, Shahnam Mirzaei, High Level Synthesis Implementation of Object Tracking Algorithm on Reconfigurable Hardware, International Symposium on Applied Reconfigurable Computing (ARC), May 2018, Greece (pdf)
Peter Littlewood, Shahnam Mirzaei, and Krishna Murthy Kattiyan Ramamoorthy, Reconfigurable IP-Based Spectral Interference Canceller, International Symposium on Applied Reconfigurable Computing (ARC), May 2018, Greece (pdf)
Beulah Preethi Vallur, Shahnam Mirzaei, Shahram Mirzai, and Krishna Murthy Kattiyan Ramamoorthy, Cerebral Blood Flow Monitoring Using IoT Enabled Cloud Computing for mHealth Applications, Future of Information and Communication Conference (FICC), April 2018, Singapore (pdf)
Peter Littlewood, Shahnam Mirzaei, and Krishna Murthy Kattiyan Ramamoorthy, Modeling of Digital Baseband Interference Canceler Using Hilbert and Fourier Transforms, IEEE 13th International Colloquium on Signal Processing & Its Applications (CSPA), March 2017, Penang, Malaysia (pdf)
Mehrdad Amanabi, and Shahnam Mirzaei, Design and Implementation of Multi Radio, IoT Enabled Autonomous Greenhouse WSN, IEEE International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC), September 2016, Valenica, Spain (pdf)
Alexander Standridge, Calvin Ho, Shahnam Mirzaei, Ramin Roosta, Janarbek Matai, and Ryan Kastner, Design Space Exploration of Scalable Bitcoin Miner on FPGA Using High-Level Synthesis, IEEE International Symposium on Field-Programmable Custom Computing Machine (FCCM), Boston, USA, May 2014 (pdf)
Alexander Standridge, Calvin Ho, Shahnam Mirzaei, and Ramin Roosta, Efficient Bitcoin Miner System Implemented on Zynq 7000 SoC, Xilinx Xcell Journal, Issue 84, July 2013 (pdf)
Deborah Goshorn, Shahnam Mirzaei, Junguk Cho, and Ryan Kastner, Field Programmable Gate Array Implementation of Parts-based Object Detection for Real Time Video Applications, International Conference on Field Programmable Logic and Applications (FPL), Milano, Italy, August 2010 (pdf)
Shahnam Mirzaei, Anup Hosangadi, and Ryan Kastner, Layout Aware Optimization of High Speed Fixed Coefficient FIR Filters for FPGAs, ACM Transactions on Reconfigurable Technology and Systems (IJRC) (pdf)
Ali Irturk, Shahnam Mirzaei and Ryan Kastner, An Efficient FPGA Implementation of Scalable Matrix Inversion Core using QR Decomposition, UCSD Technical Report, CS2009-0938, January 2013 (pdf)
Ali Irturk, Shahnam Mirzaei and Ryan Kastner, FPGA Implementation of Adaptive Weight Calculation Core Using QRD-RLS Algorithm, UCSD Technical Report, CS2009-0937, January 2013 (pdf)
Ali Irturk, Bridget Benson, Shahnam Mirzaei and Ryan Kastner, GUSTO: An FPGA Design Space Exploration Tool for Matrix Inversion Architectures, ACM Transactions on Embedded Computing Systems (TECS) (pdf)
Junguk Cho, Shahnam Mirzaei, Bridget Benson, and Ryan Kastner, Parallelized Architecture of Multiple Classifiers for face Detection, International Conference on Application Specific Systems, Architectures and Processors (ASAP), Boston, USA, February 2009 (pdf)
Junguk Cho, Shahnam Mirzaei, Jason Oberg, and Ryan Kastner, FPGA Based Face Detection System Using Haar Classifiers, International Symposium on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (ISFPGA), February 2009 (pdf)
Ali Irturk, Shahnam Mirzaei and Ryan Kastner, An FPGA Design Space Exploration Tool for Matrix Inversion Architectures, IEEE Symposium on Application Specific Processors (SASP), Anaheim, CA USA, June 2008 (pdf)
Shahnam Mirzaei, Ali Irturk, Richard E. Cagley and Bradley T. Weals, Ryan Kastner, Design Space Exploration of Cooperative MIMO Receiver for Reconfigurable Architectures, Application Specific Systems, Architectures and Processors (ASAP), Leuven, Belgium, July 2008 (pdf)
Richard E. Cagley, Brad T. Weals, Scott A. McNally, Ronald Iltis, Shahnam Mirzaei and Ryan Kastner, Implementation of the Alamouti OSTBC to a Distributed Set of Single-Antenna Wireless Nodes, IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC), Hong Kong, March 2007 (pdf)
Shahnam Mirzaei, Ryan Kastner, Richard E. Cagley and Bradley T. Weals, Memory Efficient Implementation of Correlation Function in Wireless Applications, International Symposium on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (ISFPGA), Monterey, USA, February 2007 (pdf)
Ronald Iltis, Shahnam Mirzaei, Ryan Kastner, Richard E. Cagley and Brad T. Weals, Carrier Offset and Channel Estimation for Cooperative MIMO Sensor Networks, IEEE Global Telecommunications Conference (GLOBECOM), San Francisco, USA, November 2006 (pdf)
Shahnam Mirzaei, Anup Hosangadi and Ryan Kastner, FPGA Implementation of High Speed FIR Filter Using Add and Shift Method, International Conference on Computer Design (ICCD), San Jose, USA, October 2006 (pdf)
Shahnam Mirzaei, Anup Hosangadi, and Ryan Kastner, High Speed FIR Filter Implementation Using Add and Shift Method, International Symposium on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (ISFPGA), Monterey, USA, February 2006 (pdf)
