# CAREER: Building on Foundations: A Roadmap for Decomposable, Feature-Rich, Accelerated, and Extensible Confidential Computing

> **NSF 01002930DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT** · Arizona State University (AZ) · $585,615

## Abstract

Today's confidential computing hardware provides the fundamental building blocks for data privacy in the cloud. However, current solutions built on this technology fail to deliver the level of security or the performance needed, while still demanding prohibitive resources. This project identifies the root cause as the inappropriate application of software abstractions originally designed for traditional computing environments to confidential computing contexts. Its goal is to evolve these abstractions to support elastic confidential computing and translate research outcomes into practical, widely accessible learning opportunities that position confidential computing as a first-order software design principle rather than an afterthought. The project's novelty lies in identifying the key primitives missing from confidential computing for elastic cloud settings and designing secure and automated mechanisms to realize them. Beyond advancing a technology capable of transforming data privacy and accelerating growth in the public cloud domain, the project's broader impact and significance also stem from coordinated translational efforts with the confidential computing industry.

This project advances confidential computing through four innovations. First, it develops a compiler-driven analysis and validation framework to automate the adoption of trustworthy isolation primitives within Confidential Virtual Machines (VMs). Second, it introduces a multi-process Library operating s

## Key facts

- **NSF award ID:** 2543639
- **Awardee organization:** Arizona State University (AZ)
- **SAM.gov UEI:** NTLHJXM55KZ6
- **PI:** Adil Ahmad
- **Primary program:** 01002930DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
- **All programs:** SaTC: Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace, CAREER-Faculty Erly Career Dev, Nat Security, Secure Border & Pub Safety
- **Estimated total:** $585,615
- **Funds obligated:** $361,774
- **Transaction type:** Continuing Grant
- **Period:** 06/01/2026 → 05/31/2031

## Primary source

NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2543639

## Citation

> US National Science Foundation, Award 2543639, CAREER: Building on Foundations: A Roadmap for Decomposable, Feature-Rich, Accelerated, and Extensible Confidential Computing. Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nsf/2543639. Licensed CC0.

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