Saman Amarasinghe

Professor Saman Amarasinghe is a full Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Principal Investigator at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). He leads the Commit compiler research group, which focuses on programming languages and compilers that maximize application performance on modern computing platforms. His work spans multiple academic departments and research centers, with strong affiliations to both MIT's School of Engineering and CSAIL.

Professor Amarasinghe's research interests center around high-performance domain-specific languages and compiler technology. His work combines language design with sophisticated compilation techniques to deliver unprecedented performance for targeted application domains. His research spans multiple areas including image processing (Halide), sparse tensor algebra (TACO), graph analytics (GraphIt), stream computations (StreamIt), and bioinformatics (Seq). A significant thread throughout his work is the application of machine learning for compiler optimizations, from Meta optimization in 2003 to the OpenTuner autotuner framework.

Analysis of Professor Amarasinghe's recent publications reveals a strong focus on sparse computing, compiler vectorization, and domain-specific language implementation. His work consistently bridges theoretical compiler concepts with practical performance gains across diverse application domains. The progression from earlier work on StreamIt and Halide to more recent projects like GraphIt and TACO shows an evolution toward more specialized, high-performance DSLs targeting specific computational patterns. His 2020-2025 publications particularly emphasize sparse tensor operations, GPU acceleration, and machine learning integration with compiler technology.

• ACM Fellow (2019)

Professor Amarasinghe has made significant contributions to academic entrepreneurship and student development. He founded Determina, Inc. (acquired by VMware) based on security research from his MIT lab and co-founded Lanka Internet Services, Ltd., Sri Lanka's first ISP. As faculty director of MIT Global Startup Labs, his programs across 17 countries have helped create over 20 successful startups. His teaching includes the popular Performance Engineering of Software Systems (6.172) course with Professor Charles Leiserson, as well as innovative project-based courses like the Open Source Software Project Lab and Bring Your Own Software Project Lab. His educational approach emphasizes hands-on experience with compiler and language design concepts.

Professor Amarasinghe leads the Commit compiler research group at MIT CSAIL, which has produced numerous influential domain-specific languages and compilers including Halide, TACO, Simit, StreamIt, and GraphIt. The lab maintains strong industry connections through projects like OpenTuner and Determina, and collaborates with researchers worldwide on compiler technology. The group's work spans both theoretical compiler research and practical implementation, with a consistent focus on bridging the performance gap between high-level programming abstractions and hardware capabilities.