CS 450/650: Computer Architecture

University of Waterloo • Winter 2026

Course Overview

Computer architecture is science and engineering that includes the design and interconnect of hardware components and hardware-software interface to create a computer system. This course covers the fundamental components of modern computing systems, such as processors and memory systems, as well as edge-cutting technologies in computer architecture, such as domain-specific accelerators and new memory technologies.

Class Information

Piazza (for discussions and questions) https://piazza.com/uwaterloo.ca/winter2026/cs450650
Crowdmark (for submissions) https://app.crowdmark.com/courses/cs-450-cs-650-winter-2026
Course website (this site) https://student.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~cs450/

Instructor

Sihang Liu
  • Office: DC 3528
  • Office Hours: Thursday 1:20 – 2:20 PM
  • Email: sihangliu@uwaterloo.ca (Please include [CS 450] or [CS 650] in the subject line)

Teaching Assistant

Daewoo Kim
  • Office: DC 3323
  • Office Hours: Tuesday 1-2 PM
  • Email: daewoo.kim@uwaterloo.ca (Please include [CS 450] or [CS 650] in the subject line)
  • Questions regarding grading should be emailed to the TA.