Home Page of Fall 2024 CPE380

This is the official home page for CPE380 (AKA, CS380). Although you may have registered for it as either CPE380 or CS380, there is only one section, meeting TR 2:00-3:15 in room 323 Robotics & Manufacturing.

Although many course materials will be posted here, the course Canvas site will be the primary place for course announcements. You are expected to use canvas and materials linked here. We expect to use Zoom or recordings for a couple of class meetings when Prof. Dietz will be presenting research at a conference. The best way to schedule office meetings, physical or virtual, or generally to contact Prof. Dietz is via email with "CPE380" in the Subject line.

Over the last several years, the course content of CPE380 has been evolving to be a better fit with current content in CS270, CPE287, and CPE480. The most obvious change is that the Verilog hardware description langauge is now used for many examples and four projects, making the hardware structures much clearer and better preparing student for jobs with a focus on computer hardware. Overall, CPE380's goal is to enable students to understand how all the key hardware and software components can be built and combined to make a modern computer system.


Course Staff

Professor Hank Dietz would normally be in the Davis Marksbury Building; see his home page for complete contact info. He is normally available in 108 or 203 Marksbury from about 9AM to 1:30PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He has an "open-door" policy that whenever his door is open and he's not busy with someone else, he's available -- and yup, there really is a slow-update live camera in his office so you can check. However, during the pandemic things are far less certain, and you should be prepared to wear a mask if meeting in his office. The best method to contact him is to email hankd@engr.uky.edu using "CPE380" in the subject line for anything related to this course. If appropriate, individual Zoom meetings also can be scheduled via email.

Oluwaseun Alo is the course TA. The TA is available Mondays 2-4PM and Wednesdays 2-4PM, in 204G Marksbury (you need to schedule; it is an inner office with the outer door normally locked). He also can meet at other times arranged via email. If appropriate, Zoom meetings also can be scheduled via email.

Note: The image at the top of this page was created by DALL-E: "A Van Gogh painting of a giant processor chip being built by a bunch of carpenters as the sun sets in the distance."


CPE380 Computer Organization and Design.