Data prefetchers are ubiquitous in current high-performance computers such as those manufactured by Intel, ARM, AMD, or IBM, as they play a fundamental role in hiding long-latency memory accesses. Prefetchers predict the data that will be needed by a processor in the future and fetch such data ahead of execution. State-of-the-art data prefetchers, push the limits of performance but often without caring about energy efficiency. The energy efficiency of a prefetcher is dictated by its accuracy, which measures the percentage of data moved by the prefetcher that satisfies the processor demands. Berti is a data prefetcher sited at the first-level data cache (L1D) that makes a compelling case for timeliness and accuracy. Berti can boost processors performance by 33% (with respect to those not using prefetching mechanisms) and 8.5% (when compared to mainstream prefetchers) while providing an accuracy above 90%, which translates into a low energy overhead of the memory hierarchy. In addition, Berti is a cost-effective prefetcher that just requires 2.55KB of storage. The objective of this project is to elaborate a hardware design for the Berti data prefetcher, as we strongly believe that the notable boost in processor performance and efficiency along with its design simplicity makes Berti a serious candidate both for the emerging low-power edge market and for high-performance computers.

The overarching goal of the project is to define "aesthetic learning" as a complex, multi-layered mental process from an empirically informed philosophical perspective. The research project will rely on (a) the philosophical literature concerning aesthetic values and (b) psychological evidence in cognitive sciences about the acquisition and development of perceptual and affective discriminatory capacities. The outcome of the project will be a model of aesthetic learning capable of exploiting the most recent advancements in the cognitive sciences within a rigorous philosophical framework. By focusing on such basic and uncontroversial components of aesthetic appreciation as perception and emotions, the project will establish viable criteria for the definition of aesthetic values that can be perceptually learnt and for the definition of aesthetic appreciation. Such a model will be submitted to experts in art teaching, made available for experimental testing and introduced to broader audiences. Thanks to the fellowship, the ER will fulfill the career goal of becoming an established researcher in the field of philosophical aesthetics, either with a permanent position or as a PI of a research project in a European university.