As one of five member universities of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Metro Washington Chapter (ARCS MWC), GW Engineering students have the opportunity to receive prestigious scholarships. We’re excited to announce that Isaac Bilsel, a graduate student in computer engineering, has been honored with an ARCS MWC Scholar Award for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Through these annual awards, ARCS MWC helps academically outstanding students like Bilsel pursue science, technology, engineering, or medicine (STEM) degrees. Recipients are selected based on the connection of their work to ARCS MWC’s mission to advance the United States’ global competitiveness in STEM. In his doctoral program beginning this fall, Bilsel will support that goal by developing specialized computer hardware for use in artificial intelligence (AI) models.
“Traditional, general-purpose hardware, like CPUs or GPUs, is not necessarily optimized for running certain neural networks, so in the age of AI, specialized hardware is needed,” Bilsel stated.
To develop this hardware, Bilsel will examine emerging AI models such as Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) to identify patterns and data flows and how to optimize them. He’ll specifically focus on refining AI inference, meaning how the model makes predictions, as this process occurs each time an output is generated and consumes a significant amount of energy.
Bilsel shares that he was initially drawn to computer engineering because it combines his love for physics and computer science. Receiving this award furthers his dedication to positively impacting the field by enhancing AI execution time and the model’s energy efficiency. With its financial support, he can focus fully on his research while still traveling to top conferences to stay informed on the rapidly changing area of computer architecture and make valuable connections.
“Given that I’m just starting my Ph.D. program, this award is incredibly encouraging and reinforces my commitment to focus on my research and excel in my work,” said Bilsel.