Olivia Chen, PhD

Associate Professor
Kyushu University
Email: olivia@c2lab.org
ORCID: 0000-0002-2208-0262

Education

Doctor of Engineering | Yokohama National University, Japan | 2014.04 - 2017.03

  • Graduate School of Engineering Science

Master of Engineering | Yokohama National University, Japan | [Year]

  • Graduate School of Engineering Science

Bachelor of Engineering | Southeast University, China | 2004.09 - 2008.06

  • School of Engineering

Employment

Visiting Associate Professor | University of California, Riverside, USA | 2024.05 - Present

Associate Professor | Kyushu University, Japan | 2024.04 - Present

  • Graduate School of Information Science and Electrical Engineering
  • Director, C2Lab (Cryogenic Computing Laboratory)

Founder and Representative Director | NPO Aozorium | 2025 - Present

  • Non-profit organization

Visiting Associate Professor | Yokohama National University, Japan | 2021.04 - Present

  • Institute of Advanced Sciences

Associate Professor | Tokyo City University, Japan | 2021.04 - 2024.03

  • Department of Computer Science

Project Assistant Professor | Yokohama National University, Japan | 2017.04 - 2021.03

  • Institute of Advanced Sciences

Research Projects

As Principal Investigator

Development of High-Performance Non-von Neumann Superconducting SoC | JST FOREST Program | 2023.04 - 2030.03

  • JST Emerging Research Support Program
  • Focus: Advanced superconducting system-on-chip architectures

Creation of High-Performance Machine Learning Computing Platform Using Non-Deterministic Superconducting Circuits | JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) | 2023.04 - 2028.03

  • Research #: [Grant Number]
  • Focus: Stochastic superconducting neural networks

Development of Low-Power Deep Learning Chips Using Superconducting Adiabatic Quantum-Flux-Parametron | JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A) | 2019.04 - 2021.04

  • Focus: AQFP-based neural network accelerators

Algorithm-Software-Hardware Co-Design for Ultra-Low Power Neural Networks | JST PRESTO | 2019.10 - 2023.03

  • Strategic Basic Research Program
  • Focus: Cross-layer optimization for energy-efficient AI

As Co-Investigator

Ultra-Low Power Machine Learning with Stochastic Superconducting Neural Networks | JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) | 2022.04 - 2027.03

  • PI: Naoki Takeuchi, Nobuyuki Yoshikawa
  • Role: Co-investigator on neural network architectures

Publications

For a complete list of 62+ publications, please visit the Publications page.

Selected Recent Publications

  1. Zhengang Li, Hongwu Peng, Xuan Shen, et al. “Graph Convolutional Network Acceleration Using Adiabatic Superconductor Josephson Devices.” Proceedings of the 39th ACM International Conference on Supercomputing, pp. 189-204, June 2025.

  2. Wenhui Luo, Olivia Chen, Nobuyuki Yoshikawa, Naoki Takeuchi. “True stochastic number generator using adiabatic quantum-flux-parametron logic.” Superconductor Science and Technology, vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 065012, June 2025.

  3. Mengmeng Wang, Olivia Chen, Nobuyuki Yoshikawa. “Design and Implementation of Energy-Efficient Majority-Logic-Based Approximate Adders Using Adiabatic Quantum-Flux-Parametron Technology.” IEICE Transactions on Electronics, 2025.

  4. Tomoharu Yamauchi, Naoki Takeuchi, Nobuyuki Yoshikawa, Hao San, Olivia Chen. “Dual-mode neuron design with deterministic and non-deterministic operations using adiabatic superconductor devices.” Superconductor Science and Technology, vol. 37, no. 9, pp. 095027, August 2024.

  5. Olivia Chen, Yanzhi Wang, Fei Ke, Nobuyuki Yoshikawa. “Design and Implementation of an FFT-Based Neural Network Accelerator Using Rapid Single-Flux-Quantum Technology.” IEEE NEWCAS, 2023.

Professional Service

Board Membership

  • Board Member, Applied Superconductivity Educational Foundation (ASEF), 2024.09 - Present
  • Auditor, Superconducting Electronics Consortium (超伝導エレクトロニクスコンソーシアム)

Conference Organization

  • General Chair, QUEST (Workshop on Quantum Electronics for Superconducting Technologies), 2024, 2025
  • Technical Program Committee Member, Design, Automation and Test in Europe (DATE), 2024, 2025, 2026
  • Technical Program Committee Member, Design Automation Conference (DAC), 2025, 2026
  • Technical Program Committee Member, IEEE/ACM International Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD), 2025
  • Program Committee Member, Applied Superconductivity Conference (ASC24), 2023.08 - Present
  • Program Committee Member, Applied Superconductivity Conference (ASC22), 2021 - 2022
  • Session Co-chair, IEEE GCCE, 2022.04
  • Session Moderator, European Conference on Applied Superconductivity (EUCAS), 2019.09
  • Program Committee Member, International Superconductive Electronics Conference (ISEC), 2019.07
  • Technical Program Committee Member, Great Lakes Symposium on VLSI, 2019 - 2024

Academic Committee

  • Committee Member, IEICE Technical Committee on Superconducting Electronics (SCE), 2022.06 - Present
  • Organizing Committee Member, 99th Annual Conference of the Cryogenic and Superconductivity Society of Japan, 2020.03

Professional Memberships

  • IEEE, Member
  • ACM, Member, 2020 - Present
  • IEICE (Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers), Member
  • Cryogenic and Superconductivity Society of Japan, Member, 2024.04 - Present

Invited Talks

  1. “SuperNN: Towards PetaOps/W Energy-Efficient Neuromorphic Computing”
    IEICE General Conference, March 5, 2024

  2. “Recent Research on AQFP-Based Accelerator Design”
    Invited Seminar, November 28, 2023

  3. “Hardware-Algorithm Co-Optimization of AQFP-based Neuromorphic Computing”
    International Superconductive Electronics Conference, November 10, 2023

  4. “Recent Progress on Neuromorphic Computing Using Adiabatic Josephson Devices”
    EUCAS 2023, September 5, 2023

Teaching

Kyushu University (2024 - Present)

Courses to be updated.

Tokyo City University (2021 - 2024)

VLSI Circuit Design | Graduate Course | 2022.04 - 2024.03

  • Advanced topics in VLSI design methodologies

Computer Science Laboratory | Undergraduate Course | 2021.04 - 2024.03

  • Hands-on experimental course

Hardware Description Language | Undergraduate Course | 2021.04 - 2024.03

  • Verilog and VHDL programming

Guest Lectures

Superconducting Electronics | 2018 Summer School on Superconducting Electronics

  • Supported by FLUXONICS, ESAS, SEFIRA Societies and IEEE Council on Superconductivity

Supervision

Current Students

  • Yunpeng Yao | D2 (Doctoral Student) | 2023 - Present
  • Koyo Morita | B4 (Undergraduate) | 2025 - Present
  • Ayaka Mihara | M1 (Visiting from Tokyo City University) | 2025 - Present

Alumni

  • Mengmeng Wang | MS, Yokohama National University, Graduated 2024 | Current Position: Engineer, Synopsys Japan
  • Tomoharu Yamauchi | MS, Tokyo City University, Graduated 2024 | Current Position: Engineer, Socionext Inc.
  • Hangqi Zhang | BE, Kyushu University, Graduated 2025 | Current Position: MS Student, The University of Tokyo

Awards & Honors

  • Van Duzer Prize Award, IEEE Council on Superconductivity, September 2024
  • Outstanding Research Award, Tokyo City University, September 2023
  • Award for External Research Funding Achievement, Yokohama National University, June 2020
  • Young Professional Award, Cryogenic Engineering Conference (CEC), March 2019
  • SNF Contest for Best ASC 2016 Contributed Preprints, IEEE Council on Superconductivity (CSC), January 2017
  • JGC-S Scholarship, JGC-S Scholarship Foundation, April 2013

Research Expertise

Research Areas

  • Beyond-CMOS Technologies
  • Superconducting Digital Computing (AQFP, RSFQ, SFQ)
  • Cryogenic AI Acceleration
  • Neuromorphic Computing
  • EDA for Superconducting Circuits
  • VLSI Design and Architecture

Technical Keywords

  • Adiabatic Quantum-Flux-Parametron (AQFP)
  • Superconducting Electronics
  • Neural Network Accelerators
  • Low-Power Computing
  • Hardware-Software Co-Design

Last updated: January 10, 2026