UMass Amherst Holds First Joint Workshop on Emerging AI Hardware with Hokkaido University
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On July 6, UMass Amherst continued its longstanding relationship with Hokkaido University (HU) in Japan by collaborating to stage the initial joint UMA-HU Workshop on Emerging AI Hardware in Sapporo, Japan. The workshop was subtitled “Hardware for Green Economy, Sustainability, and Advanced Manufacturing.” Professor Qiangfei Xia, the Dev and Linda Gupta Professor in the UMass Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department, and Professor Hiroyuki Akinaga from the Faculty of Information Science and Technology at Hokkaido University worked together to organize the event.
As Xia explains about the workshop in Sapporo, it was “a new initiative designed to strengthen research collaboration between UMass Amherst and Hokkaido University in the rapidly evolving field of AI hardware.”
The historical relationship between UMass Amherst and Hokkaido University began in 1876, when Dr. William Clark, the third president of Massachusetts Agricultural College (now UMass Amherst), was hired by the Japanese Government as an advisor to help establish what was then called Sapporo Agricultural College. During the following eight-month period, he served as interim president, organized the curriculum, taught classes alongside colleagues from Massachusetts Agricultural College, and contributed mightily to the fledgling institution’s scientific and economic development. His motto – “Boys, be ambitious!” – has continually inspired students at Sapporo Agricultural College as it has evolved into Hokkaido University today.
“During my visit,” says Xia, “I saw the bust of Dr. Clark, the motto he coined that remains Hokkaido University’s motto – ‘Boys, be ambitious!’ – and the sugar-maple tree planted by former UMass Amherst Chancellor Randolph Bromery 50 years ago. These visible symbols of the long-standing connection between our two universities made the workshop feel especially meaningful.”
As Xia explains, “Given the special historical relationship between UMass Amherst and Hokkaido University, the rapid growth of AI, and the construction of Japan’s most advanced semiconductor foundry [in the prefecture of Hokkaido], I believe this workshop can serve as a valuable platform for expanding international partnerships in this strategically important field.”
According to the workshop’s website, the event brought together researchers from UMass Amherst and Hokkaido University “to share recent advances in AI hardware, semiconductor devices, materials, and next-generation computing technologies.” Through invited talks and discussions, the workshop promoted international collaboration and explored “how emerging AI hardware can contribute to the green economy, sustainability, and advanced manufacturing.”
In that context, the workshop brought together faculty and researchers from the two universities working across devices, circuits, architectures, systems, and applications for next-generation AI computing. In addition to participants from UMass Amherst and Hokkaido University, the workshop also invited senior technical executives from IBM, IBM Japan, and Rapidus as speakers.
Xia is an internationally renowned leader in the development of novel semiconductor devices and nanoelectronics for integrated information-processing systems. The UMass Amherst office of Research and Engagement recently named him as one of three researchers to serve as 2026-27 Samuel F. Conti Faculty Fellowship Awardees. The Conti Fellowship recognizes the exceptional quality and significance of a faculty member’s accomplishments in research and creative endeavors at UMass Amherst. (July 2026)
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Qiangfei Xia
