Communications

Friday May 6th, 2016 at 3:30 p.m. Prof. Wei Yu, IEEE Fellow, will be presenting an IEEE Distinguished Lecture, “Cloud Radio-Access Networks: Coding Strategies, Capacity Analysis, and Optimization Techniques”. Speaker: Prof. Wei Yu IEEE Fellow IEEE Information Theory Society Board of Governors (2015-17) IEEE Communications Society Distinguished Lecturer (2015-16) Day & Time: Friday, May 6th, 2016 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Location: Room BA 1230 Bahen Centre for Information Technology University of Toronto, St. George Campus 40 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2E4 Contact: Eman Hammad Abstract: Cloud radio access network (C-RAN) is an emerging wireless cellullar architecture in which the base-stations (BSs) take advantage of high-capacity backhaul links to upload signal processing and computation to a cloud-computing based central processor. The C-RAN architecture offers an enabling platform for the centralized joint encoding and joint decoding of user messages and a capability for intercell interference mitigation across the BSs. In this talk, we address the capacity analysis and optimization technique for C-RAN while specifically taking into account the finite capacity constraint on the backhaul links. In the uplink, the C-RAN architecture can be modeled as a multiple-access relay channel. We analyze a compress-and-forward scheme in which the BSs quantize the received signals and send the quantized signals to the central processor using Wyner–Ziv coding. We also propose a successive convex optimization approach for optimizing the quantization noise covariance matrix. In the downlink, the C-RAN architecture can be modeled as a broadcast relay channel. We compare the message-sharing strategy versus compression-based strategy for this setting, and show how compressive sensing and weighted minimum mean-squared error (WMMSE) techniques can be used to solve a network utility maximization problem involving joint user scheduling, BS clustering and beamforming in a user-centric message-sharing C-RAN design. Biography: Wei Yu (S’97-M’02-SM’08-F’14) received the B.A.Sc. degree in Computer Engineering and Mathematics from the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada in 1997 and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, Stanford, CA, in 1998 and 2002, respectively. Since 2002, he has been with the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he is now Professor and holds a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Information Theory and Wireless Communications. His main research interests include information theory, optimization, wireless communications and broadband access networks. Prof. Wei Yu currently serves on the IEEE Information Theory Society Board of Governors (2015-17). He is an IEEE Communications Society Distinguished Lecturer (2015-16). He served as an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Information Theory (2010-2013), as an Editor for IEEE Transactions on Communications (2009-2011), as an Editor for IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications (2004-2007), and as a Guest Editor for a number of special issues for the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications and the EURASIP Journal on Applied Signal Processing. He was a Technical Program co-chair of the IEEE Communication Theory Workshop in 2014, and a Technical Program Committee co-chair of the Communication Theory Symposium at the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC) in 2012. He was a member of the Signal Processing for Communications and Networking Technical Committee of the IEEE Signal Processing Society (2008-2013). Prof. Wei Yu received a Steacie Memorial Fellowship in 2015, an IEEE Communications Society Best Tutorial Paper Award in 2015, an IEEE ICC Best Paper Award in 2013, an IEEE Signal Processing Society Best Paper Award in 2008, the McCharles Prize for Early Career Research Distinction in 2008, the Early Career Teaching Award from the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, University of Toronto in 2007, and an Early Researcher Award from Ontario in 2006. He is recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Thomson Reuters. Prof. Wei Yu is a Fellow of IEEE. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario.

Thursday April 28th, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. Dr. Nariman Farsad, Post-doc Fellow, Stanford University, will be presenting “Molecular Communication: Theoretical Limits and Experimental Implementations”. Speaker: Dr. Nariman Farsad Post-doc Fellow, Stanford University Day & Time: Thursday, April 28th, 2016 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Location: Room BA 1190 Bahen Centre for Information Technology University of Toronto, St. George Campus 40 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2E4 Contact: Eman Hammad Abstract: Molecular communication is a new and bio-inspired field, where chemical signals are used to transfer information instead of electromagnetic or electrical signals. In this paradigm, the transmitter releases chemicals or molecules and encodes information on some property of these signals such as their timing or concentration. The signal then propagates the medium between the transmitter and the receiver through different means such as diffusion, until it arrives at the receiver where the signal is detected and the information decoded. This new multidisciplinary field can be used for in-body communication, secrecy, networking microscale and nanoscale devices, infrastructure monitoring in smart cities and industrial complexes, as well as for underwater communications. Since these systems are fundamentally different from telecommunication systems, most techniques that have been developed over the past few decades to advance radio technology cannot be applied to them directly. In this talk, we first explore some of the fundamental limits of molecular communication channels. In particular, we explore the fundamental capacity limits of the molecular timing channels, where information is encoded in the time of release of chemical signals. We also evaluate how capacity scales with respect to the number of particles released by the transmitter. Then, optimal detection in molecular timing channels is briefly discussed. We conclude the talk by presenting some of the recent experimental implementations of molecular communication systems. Biography: Nariman Farsad received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in computer science and engineering from York University, Toronto, Canada in 2010 and 2015, respectively. He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Department of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, where he is a recipient of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Postdoctoral Fellowship. Nariman has won the second prize in 2014 IEEE ComSoc Student Competition: Communications Technology Changing the World, the best demo award at INFOCOM’2015, and was recognized as a finalist for the 2014 Bell Labs Prize. He has been an Area Associate Editor for IEEE Journal of Selected Areas of Communication–Special Issue on Emerging Technologies in Communications, and a Technical Reviewer for a number of journals including IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, and IEEE Transactions on Information Theory. He was also a member of the Technical Program Committees for the ICC’2015, BICT’2015, GLOBCOM’2015, and GLOBCOM’2016.

Monday April 4th, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. Dr. Alexander D. Gelman, Director of Standardization Programs Development, IEEE Communication Society, will be presenting “IEEE Standards Development EcoSystem and ComSoc Standards and Standards related Activities”. Speaker: Dr. Alexander D. Gelman Director of Standardization Programs Development IEEE Communication Society Day & Time: Monday, April 4th, 2016 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Location: BA 1230, Bahen Centre for Information Technology 40 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2E4 Refreshments in BA 1200 at 5:30 p.m. Contact: Eman Hammad Abstract: In this presentation the IEEE and ComSoc Standards Activities are positioned and explained as a part of the IEEE total value proposition and the IEEE role in technology evolution from a concept to R&D and to standards and deployment. IEEE Standards Activities ecosystem will be explained. We will address the role and modus operandi of IEEE Standards Association and the role of Technical Societies and Councils, Industry and Academia in the IEEE standardization activities. It will be a tutorial of how the IEEE Standardization cuisine works and how any materially or professedly interested party can participate in the standardization process. We will highlight the unique IEEE standardization process and IEEE standards-related policies. Sample communications and networking standardization and pre-standardization projects in such areas as PLC, Smart Grid, IoT, SDN, Big Data and 5G will be addressed. ComSoc standards–related technical activists, such as conferences and publications will be discussed. Biography: Alexander D. Gelman received M.E. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the City University of New York. Presently he is CTO of NETovationsconsulting group that supports industry in competitive research and intellectual property management in areas of communications and networking. During 1998-2007 Alex worked the Chief Scientist of the Panasonic Princeton Research Laboratory, managing research programs in consumer communications and networking; during 1984-1998 worked at Bellcore, most recently as Director-Internet Access Architectures Research. Alex has numerous publications and several patents. He pioneered multi-point Multimedia Communications and DSL applications for managed services (IPTV). Alex holds some of the earliest system patents inVoDand DSL areas, e.g. on xDSLInternet Access Router. He managed research projects that included competitive industrial research as well as standardization in industry consortia and global standards development organizations. Alex is a seasoned IEEE and ComSocvolunteer. He is a cofounder the IEEE conference on Consumer Communications and Networking (CCNC), helped to acquire for ComSocthe International Symposium on Power Line Communications (ISPLC), the IEEE Conference on Peer-to-Peer Computing, IEEE-SIIT and IEEEBlackSeaComconferences; served on the inaugural Steering Committee for Transactions on Multimedia and the IEEE International Conference on Multimedia and Expo (ICME) and IEEE-CSCN; initiated a Communications Standards Supplement to the IEEE Communications Magazine asan incubation phase for IEEE Communications Standards Magazine; chaired the Technical Committee on Multimedia Communications,served four terms as ComSocVice President. Alex initiated several standardization projects and initiated the ComSocStandards Board, served as ComSocDirector of Standards. During his term ComSocreceived the IEEE Standards Association Entity Standards Sponsor award. Alex served on IEEE-SA BoGand on Standards Board and its New Standards, Standards Review, Patents and Industry Connections committees, e.g. representing TAB in 2008, 2010, and in 2012. In 2008 Alex chaired TAB’s Ad Hoc Committee on Standards. Alex architected ComSocStandards Activities Council and was elected the first ComSocVice President -Standards Activities. Alex is a recipient of MMC TC Distinguished Service award and ComSocDonald W. McLellan Meritorious Service Award. And IEEE-SA Standards Medallion.