About the Lab

Introducing CSL

The University of Illinois’ Coordinated Science Laboratory is a premier, multidisciplinary research laboratory that focuses on information technology at the crossroads of computing, control and communications.

With a rich history of more than 60 years of innovation, CSL has developed and deployed new technologies that have achieved international scientific recognition and transformed society.

Led by a faculty of world-renowned experts and researchers, CSL uses these innovations to explore critical issues in defense, medicine, environmental sciences, robotics, life-enhancement for the disabled and aeronautics.

CSL is building the infrastructure today to make these advancements a reality for tomorrow.

A Roadmap of Innovations

In its more than 60 years, CSL has made major contributions in a variety of fields. Here are some landmark achievements:

• An Emmy Award for inventing the flat-panel, plasma display monitor
• PLATO, the first computer-assisted instructional program in the world
• The electric vacuum gyroscope, making it possible for nuclear submarines to navigate the world while submerged for months
• Innovative universal receivers for CDMA communications
• The Secret Sharing System to protect information from inadvertent damage and covert tampering
• The first multiprocessor using microprocessors
• The first binaural hearing aid
• The linear approach to estimating the 3-D motion of objects from a sequence of 2-D images
• Massively increased efficiency of image reconstruction from medical scanners by a factor of 20 to 1000
• First to create a technique for the building and testing of reliable circuits
• First to apply signal processing to optical fiber communication systems