Biography

Josep M. Jornet is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University at Buffalo (UB), The State University of New York (SUNY). He received the B.S. in Telecommunication Engineering and the M.Sc. in Information and Communication Technologies from the UniversitatPolitecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain, in 2008. He received the Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Atlanta, GA, in 2013. From September 2007 to December 2008, he was a visiting researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, under the MIT Sea Grant program. He was the recipient of the Oscar P. Cleaver Award for outstanding graduate students in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, at Georgia Tech in 2009. He also received the Broadband Wireless Networking Lab Researcher of the Year Award in 2010. In 2016 and 2017, he received the Distinguished TPC Member Award at the IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM). In 2017, he received the IEEE Communications Society Young Professional Best Innovation Award, the ACM NanoCom Outstanding Milestone Award and the UB SEAS Early Career Researcher of the Year Award.Since July 2016, he is the Editor-in-Chief of the Nano Communication Networks (Elsevier) Journal. He also serves in the Steering Committee of the ACM Nanoscale Computing and Communications Conference series. He is a member of the IEEE and the ACM. His current research interests are in Terahertz-band communication networks, Nano-photonic wireless communication, Intra-body Wireless Nanosensor Networks and the Internet of Nano-Things.

Abstract

Wireless data traffic has grown exponentially in recent years due to a change in the way today's society creates, shares and consumes information. This change has been accompanied by an increasing demand for higher speed wireless communications, anywhere, anytime. Following the current trend, wireless Terabit-per-second (Tbps) links are expected to be come a reality within the next five years. In this context, Terahertz (THz)-band (0.1-10 THz) communication is envisioned as a key wireless technology of the next decade. TheTHz band will help overcome the spectrum scarcity problems and capacity limitations of current wireless networks, by providing an unprecedentedly large bandwidth. In addition, THz-band communication will enable a plethora of long-awaited applications, both at thenano-scale and atthemacro-scale, ranging from in stantaneous data transferamongnon-invasivenano-devicestoultra-high-definition content streaming among mobile devices and wireless high-bandwidth secure communications. In this seminar, an in-depth view of THz-band communication networks will be provided. First, the state of the art and open challenges in the design and development of THz transceivers and antennas will be presented, with special emphasis on novel hybrid graphene/semiconductor devices. Then, the current progress and futurere search directions interms of channel modeling; physical layer design, including bandwidth-adaptive modulation and ultra-massive MIMO transmission schemes; and, link layer solutions, including error, flow and medium access control for THz-bandcommunication networks, will be tackledin a bottom-upapproach, defining aroad map for the development of this next frontier in wireless communication.

Biography

Dr. Dario Pompili in an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Rutgers University, NJ,USA where since 2007 he is the director of the Cyber-Physical Systems Laboratory (CPS Lab), which focuses on mobile computing, wireless communications and networking, acoustic communications, sensor networks, and datacenter management. He received a PhD degree in ECE from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2007, where he worked in the Broadband Wireless Networking Laboratory. He had previously received a "Laurea" (combined BS/MS) and Doctorate degrees in Telecommunications and Systems Engineering from the University of Rome "La Sapienza," Italy, in 2001 and 2004, respectively. In 2011, Dr. Pompili received the US NSF CAREER award to design efficient communication solutions for underwater multimedia applications. In 2012, he received the US ONR Young Investigator Program (YIP) award, one out of 26 awarded nationwide, to develop an uncertainty-aware autonomic mobile computing grid framework as well as the DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA), one out of 51 awarded nationwide, to enable real-time information processing based on compute-intensive models for operational neuroscience.In 2015, he was nominated Rutgers-New Brunswick Chancellor's Scholar. In terms of scholar impact, he is Top Cited Author for "Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks: Research Challenges," Ad Hoc Networks (Elsevier), vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 257-279, March'05 (Scopus citations in '05-'10); and Most Cited Ad Hoc Networks Author for "Three-dimensional and Two-dimensional Deployment Analysis for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks," Ad Hoc Networks (Elsevier), vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 778-790, June'09 (Scopus citations since '09). He won Best Demo Award with "Towards Reconfigurable Cyber Physical Systems" at IEEE MASS'14. He won the 2016 Googol T-ASE Best Applications Paper Award (received at IEEE CASE'16). He won Best Paper Awards at IEEE MASS'17, IEEE/IFIP WONS'17, and HiPC'12; and Best Paper Runner-Up at WUWNet'15. Dr. Pompili published more than a hundred refereed scholar publications: with morethan 7,000 citations, he has an h-index of 29 and an i10-index of 58 (Google Scholar, Oct'17). Since 2014, he is a Senior Member of both the IEEE Communications Society and the ACM.

Abstract

Over the last few years, the proliferation of data-intensive applications on mobile devices has contributed to the overwhelming mobile traffic volume that is pushing against the boundary of the current communication networks' capacity. Additionally, the rapidly growing popularity of computation-intensive and latency-sensitive mobile services has placed severe demands on cloud infrastructure and wireless access networks such as ultra-low latency, user experience continuity, and high reliability. To keep up with these surging demands, network operators have to spend enormous efforts to improve users' experience while maintaining healthy revenue growth. While several solutions have been proposed to improve network capacity such as the deployment of ultra-dense small cells and massive antenna arrays, these approaches are fundamentally constrained by the limited spectrum resources, inter-cell interference, and control signaling overheads. Therefore, to support the foreseen massive demands from data- and computation-hungry users in the upcoming Fifth Generation (5G) wireless systems in an affordable way, improving network capacity alone is not sufficient and has to be accompanied with innovations at higher layers, e.g., deployment of new network architectures and enabled network intelligence. To overcome the limitations of current Radio Access Networks (RANs), two emerging paradigms have been envisioned: (i) Cloud RAN (C-RAN), which aims at the centralization of Base Station (BS) functionalities via network virtualization and optical fronthaul technologies; and (ii) Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), which proposes to empower the network edge by providing computing, storage, and networking resources within the edge of the mobile RAN. These two paradigms are complementary while having unique positions within the 5G ecosystem: the centralized nature of C-RAN provides higher degree of cooperation in the network to address the capacity fluctuation and to increase the spectral and energy efficiency; on the other hand, the MEC paradigm is useful in reducing service latency and improving localized user experience. In this talk, novel cooperative frameworks leverage these two paradigms are discussedto make optimized decisions for communications, caching, and computation in 5G wireless systems. These innovative solutions include: (i) a joint dynamic radio clustering and cooperative beamforming scheme that maximizes the downlink sum throughput of a C-RAN system, (ii) a cooperative hierarchical caching framework that aims at minimizing the network cost of content delivery and at improving users' Quality of Experience (QoE) in a C-RAN, (iii) a joint collaborative caching and processing framework that enhances Adaptive Bitrate (ABR)-video streaming in a MEC network, and (iv) a joint computation offloading and resource allocation framework that improve users' computation experience by offloading their computation tasks to the MEC servers. These innovations can benefit a wide range of mobile applications and services such as video streaming, Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR), Internet-of-Things (IoTs), and healthcare.

Biography

Norbert Schwesinger studied Electrical Engineering from 1973-1977 and got his Dr.-Ing. in 1983 at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the TH Ilmenau. Then he was working as a development engineer, first at Relay Technique Grossbreitenbach and second at Robotron Sömmerda. In 1992, he became director of the Microsystems Technology Laboratories at the Technical University of Ilmenau. He has made sustained contributions to engineering research in the field of microfluidics. In this field, he developed silicon based ink jet print heads and several microreaction components. He developed one of the first microreaction design kits. For the French cosmetic company Ch. Dior, he successfully designed and developed microstructured components for a sophisticated distribution of certain beauty products on human skin. Since 2001, he is professor at the Technical University of Munich, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Department of Microstructured Mechatronic Systems. He focused his research activities to piezoelectric materials and their possible use in microstructured elements. Besides microactuators as driving elements for microvalves, he deepened his activities on the development of piezoelectric micro energy harvesting devices. In his focus are periodic and discontinuous impulses that trigger oscillations of active elements by means of a suitable constructive design. Sensors for the detection of mechanical parameters are another focus of his research. Instead of known and easily replaceable sensors, his research is oriented on individualized sensors delivering individual signals for similar excitements. This characteristic supports the Physical Unclonable Functionality (PUF) of modern electronic devices. As member, he acts actively in several national and international Technical Committees. He is author of numerous papers and the textbook "Mikrosystemtechnik". He has acted as key note/plenary speaker for several international conferences.

Abstract

This lecture provides a snapshot of the current state of energy harvesting (EH). It describes several problems of EH based on selected examples. EH is still a controversial area in engineering. Funding programs in many industrialized countries have taken EH-projects very well into account. Nevertheless, it is hard to find many results showing EHs as products. Only a few companies operate in this field. Their EHs provide typically a very low output of electrical energy. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze what energy harvesting can do at all. EH try to turn inevitable losses of energy from artificial processes or free environmental energy into electrical energy. This can be realized using corresponding energy transducers. While free environmental energy is largely inexhaustible, available energy sources of technical processes are exhaustible. Engineers constantly strive to reduce inevitable losses in industrial processes. Processes with high efficiency show low losses. Therefore, they are not suited for EH. Processes with correspondingly high losses are suitable in principle for EH. EH obviously targets circumstances in opposition to the trend of technical developments. Energy losses in artificial processes are heat, vibration, radiation, scattering, pressure drops and…. Over 80% EH- publications deal with the conversion of vibration into electrical energy by the piezoelectric effect. Despite of the use of the high performance ceramic PZT ("Lead-Zirconate-Titanate"), the power density of piezoelectric transducers is only in the range of μWs /cm3. Numerous designs and circuits developed show a minimal rise of effectiveness but an increase in complexity and fabrication costs. Despite the need for repeated maintenance, batteries are much cheaper than EHs are. However, criteria were elaborated, allowing for a meaningful use of energy harvesters. They describe that the appropriate use of EHs is only given when certain conditions are met. The use of EH is shown by means of two examples. EHs are of flexible piezoelectric PVDF (Poly-Vinylidene–Di-Fluoride) films. Two layers were stacked alternating on each other and wound to a spool. The EHs have been arranged either in the floor or in a pipe. In both cases, the EHS are inaccessible and not in contact with the power net. They can be forced to stretch or to oscillate. This lead in both cases to a polarization and a separation of electrical charges. Experiments carried out with EHs in a wind channel and in a water pipe as well as in the floor indicated that the generated electrical energy is sufficient to supply sensors and a corresponding radio electronic. If power is stored in a capacitor and the data transmission consumes about 0.2 mWs during one operation, duty cycles of less than 10 minutes are possible. This is enough for a continuous monitoring of certain processes by independent smart sensors.

Biography

Mukesh Jewariya received the M.Sc. in physics in 2003 from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee and M.Tech. in laser technology in 2006 from Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya Indore. He received his D.Sc. in physics from Kyoto University in 2010. From 2010 to 2011, he worked as a Specially Appointed Researcher in the Renovation Center of Instruments for Science Education and Technology, Osaka University. Later from 2011-2012 he worked as an Assistant Professor in the Institute of Technology and Science, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan. He was a visiting scientist from 2015- 2016 at Korea atomic Energy Research Institute-Daejeon, S. Korea. Currently he is working as a scientist at CSIR-National Physical laboratory New-Delhi from 2012. He is a recipient of Monbukagashuo Fellowship- Japan (2006), JSPS Kakenhi (2011) and Korean Research Fellowship ( 2015-2017).His research interest includes generation of high power THz pulse, THz spectroscopy, THz imaging, and THz frequency metrology.

Abstract

A novel technique has been demonstrated for the generation of intense terahertz electromagnetic wave that enables high-field near-single-cycle terahertz (THz) pulse via non-collinear χ(2) process in LiNbO3 with both phase-front and spectral angular dispersion. Using this technique we are able to generate a single cycle (broadband) terahertz pulse upto an electric field of 750 kV/cm. We measured various samples using this intense THz pulse. With intense incident electric field amplitude, we expected that the large amplitude intermolecular vibration coherently driven which brings nonlinearity. The appearance of such nonlinearity will open new techniques of multi-dimensional spectroscopy and material control. We have also demonstrated the potential of this intense THz pulse for 3D THz imaging. We measured a dynamic range of 619 for the THz detection at the integration time of 10 ms, which is 13- times higher than that of previous system based on collinear optical rectification in ZnTe crystal. The main advantage of the proposed method relies on real-time THz line projection providing 10 ms acquisition time of 2D-ST THz image. Therefore, 3D THz CT has been performed in only 6 seconds, representing a significant improvement compared with common systems. Finally, demonstration of 3D rimages clearly indicated a high potential for sensing, non-destructive inspection and material characterization in real world applications.

Biography

Ala' Khalifeh received the PhD degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California, Irvine -USA in 2010. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Communication Engineering department at the German Jordanian University and the department chair. Dr.Khalifeh is the recipient of the Fulbright scholarship (2005-2007) sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State and the University of California Pedagogical fellowship for his excellent teaching and leadership skills. He is currently the IEEE chair for the communication society in Jordan. His research is in communications technology, signal processing, and networking with particular emphasis on optimal resource allocations for multimedia transmission over wired and wireless networks, VoIP, E-health applications, medical signal processing, , speech, video and audio signal processing. He has published numerous research papers at national and international journals, conference proceedings as well as chapters of books.The European Union Support to Research, Technological Development and Innovation in Jordan (SRTD - II)(2015-2017), project title: (A videoconferencing platform for e-health services). The Jordanian Scientific research funding,(2015-2017), project title (A Smartphone-based online video conferencing platform for eHealth services in rural areas). Further, he is the CO-PI of the NATO SPS project entitled (Hybrid sensor networks for emergency critical scenarios) (2015-2018).

Abstract

Situation awareness is at the basis of security in many scenarios going from private and public building to outdoor areas such as forests, harbors, or nation boundaries, for both civil and military applications. Monitoring systems are widely recognized as an invaluable tool whenever surveillance, intrusion or hazard detection are needed to ensure prevention, prediction and protection against critical events such as natural disasters or homeland security threats. Such monitoring systems provide collaborating sensing devices to gather measures concerning the status of the monitored field of interest, to report the collected information to data collection and processing points, and to ultimately trigger the necessary intervention when needed.

While sensor networks are common place in safely accessible environments, such as production plants, bridges, or buildings, where sensing devices are deployed and maintained by skilled personnel, we envision their application even in critical scenarios such as hostile environments, battlefields, or areas subject to natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions, floods or to large scale accidents such as nuclear plants explosions or chemical plumes. Several attempts in this direction have been made with wireless sensor networks, be them terrestrial, underground, aerial or underwater. Perhaps the most important reason preventing the use of such networks in the above mentioned operative settings is the difficulty in quickly deploying a network which guarantees complete coverage of the area of the critical event of interest, with the necessary connectivity and time responsiveness. A prior deployment of the network is not necessarily a solution, as critical events are not always predictable. Furthermore, an already deployed wireless sensor network has limited lifetime because sensor nodes are powered by short-lived batteries whose replacement or recharge is expensive, if even possible. Existing solutions lack of practical applicability in the above described operative settings due to several unrealistic assumptions, which we remove thanks to an accurate preliminary experimental study of existing technologies and their limitations in the project target scenarios.

Therefore we address the case of on-demand, event-driven deployments, where complete and prompt coverage of the event area is achieved by a network composed of heterogeneous devices, hereby called HSNs (Hybrid Sensor Network). We aim at exploiting the sensing capabilities of cheap terrestrial sensors, and to increase the network coverage capability by means of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). UAVs can be used for enhancing network coverage by both performing additional sensing and dropping additional small sized static sensors, and for increasing network connectivity by acting as data mules to drive the information collected by the static sensors towards a possibly remote collection and processing center. Furthermore we consider UAVs as a way to offload the static network, when sensors have limited memory and quickly saturate their capacities due to upcoming events which require a sudden increase in the data collection rate. Finally we want to explore UAVs endowed with cutting edge wireless recharging technologies to ensure the realization of a long lasting network.

Biography

Shajahan M is a Scientist/Engineer of Space Physics Laboratory (SPL), Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Indian Space Research Organisation under Department of Space, Trivandrum, Kerala.He received his B. Tech. Degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from College of Engineering (CET), Trivandrum,Kerala University. He joined at SPL, VSSC in 1987. Since then he involved in the design and developmental activities of Radar Systems and other Scientific Instruments for Atmospheric Studies. He has expertise in the design and development of re-configurable state-of-the-art Digital Receivers using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based on System-on-Chip concept,high power Solid State Power Amplifiers, high gain micro strip and planartransmit-receive antenna arrays, etc.Currently, he is serving as Project Manager of payload DFRS under 'RAMBA' projectofChandrayan-II mission ofISRO andEngineer-in–charge of Indian Space Weather Impact Monitoring (InSWIM) Network etc.He is a life member of Indian Society of Systems forScience and Engineering (ISSE) – Trivandrum Chapter.

Abstract

Radarsplay very important role in many scientific and technical fields which influence the human life. The Radar technology essentially makes use of the electromagnetic waves and their propagation characteristics. Further, developments in the electronic technologymade the generation of awide spectrumof frequencies of electromagnetic waveswith varying power possible.Conventionally Radar System involves analysis of reflected radio waves (echoes)from different types of remote targets for finding the distance and velocity.In this talk, I will give an overview of different types of Radar Systems used for the study of various atmospheric parameters, ionospheric structures, radar equations, signal processing, types of radar antenna, and solid state technology for high RF power generation. I will be mainly discussingDoppler techniques and its various applications and will conclude by discussing various applications of Radars in scientific and other sectors.

Biography

Vijay Anand is an Technology Director in Aricent and plays an strategic leadership role in R&D by building Middleware Frameworks / stacks / Enablers for Hi-Tech market Segments specfically on Automotive – Connected Car/ Connected MotorBike, Residential – Connected Home and Aerospace – Connected Aircraft (IFED & Avionics Communication Gateway). In this role, he oversees technology direction and innovation for "Consumer, Automotive, Enterprise and Aerospace" market verticals. He does research activities that drive the state-of-art in the design of next generation wireless technologies and along with his group, he builds Software Products (Netsnapper, Multimedia), creates Proof of-concepts, engage with OEM’s/ODM’s/Service Providers/Operators and publish papers in competitive conferences and journals for the research community. He has organized and chaired several technical sessions and gave tutorials on "Mobile Device Architecture: Present and Future", "Digital Living Network Alliance", "Fixed Mobile Convergence", "Connected Car/Home", "Connected City", "IoT/IoV" at various International Conferences and symposia – WECON 2016, IoTA 2016, ICCVE 2015, WiSPNET, NTMS, NCC 2010, WPMC, CSI, IEEE Wi-MAX, ICEMC2, AICT & MAP. He is a sought after panellist, keynote speaker, and architect on next generation mobile terminals, Automotive and Consumer Electronic products.

He has been involved in several international Research projects related to Mobile communication, Consumer and Automotive segments. Vijay has 24+ years of experience and has Published, more than 17 Research Papers, 3 International Journals at various Wireless International Conferences – WTS, WWC, WWRF, IMSAA and COMSWARE and engaged academic Institutions for Research Projects. He is the author for the “Best-Paper and Outstanding Paper” award winning articles at IEEE/International conference.

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the result of the convergence of technologies that have emerged over the last 20 years. We now live in an era of connected cars, connected homes and connected lives. The connected home in today's context is a high‐bandwidth home and becoming a reality. As the connected home market gains momentum, solutions will become increasingly sophisticated, creating more value for consumers and for suppliers. Growing adoption of smart home systems and technologies is coinciding with the increasing prevalence of connected consumer vehicles.

The most exciting innovations we have seen in over a century of automotive development is the *Connected Car* which forms part of the global Machine‐to‐Machine (M2M) market that brings the power of car connectivity to the consumer, cloud, mobile and artificial intelligence technologies to interact with the environment for greater safety, comfort, entertainment and, importantly, a "connected‐life" experience. The internet of things, smart phones and other technological advancements have altered the way we relate to our car where the users can remain connected to the outside world and be thoroughly entertained even on the move.

Finally in all *connected world*, the simple user proposition is "anywhere, anytime and on any device" and the rise of Connected home technology has witnessed a growing consumer interest to access, monitor and control home equipment's on‐the‐go and requires certain challenges to be addressed like inter‐operability between various devices at home, inter‐working between various protocols/stacks that are followed across various types of connected devices inside the home. As the Internet of Things connects more household appliances and systems to the Web, consumers are embracing home automation, which in turn will drive demand for integration of these systems with the car.

Today's consumers expect to stay connected wherever they are, while at home (or) on the road, and Connected Car market empowers OEM's/Tier‐1's/Network providers to meet this demand. This is a huge opportunity for Car manufacturers, Smart Home Gateway manufacturers to help service providers of the connected world to realize cost savings and generate new revenue streams while helping to evolve the Connected Car & Home technology with innovative services and offerings.