2004 Wireless Networking Symposium Chairs Elected

Profs. Robert W. Heath, Jr. and Jeffrey G. Andrews have been elected to serve respectively as the General Chair and Technical Program Chair for the upcoming 2004 WNCG Wireless Networking Symposium, October 20 - 22, 2004. Planning has already begun for this event, which promises to be an even bigger success in its second year.

Prof. Heath served as the Technical Program Chair for the inaugural Wireless Networking Symposium in 2003, and will be the General Chair for the 2004. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, and the Director of the Wireless Systems Innovations Laboratory. Prof. Heath received his B.S.E.E. (1996) and his M.S.E.E. (1997) degrees from the University of Virginia, and the Ph.D.E.E. (2002) degree from Stanford University. From 1998-2001, he was affiliated with the startup company Iospan Wireless, Inc., in San Jose, CA (formerly known as Gigabit Wireless). At Iospan he played a key role in the design and implementation of the physical and link layers of a broadband wireless access system. The proposed system, currently in field trials, employs OFDM modulation, MIMO technology, and adaptive space-time modulation. It achieves the highest spectral efficiency of any commercial wireless modem (12 bits/s/Hz).

Prof. Jeff Andrews will be leading the Techincal Program Committee as their Chair for 2004. Prof. Andrews joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin in the summer of 2002 as an Assistant Professor. He received the B.S. in Engineering with High Distinction from Harvey Mudd College in 1995, and the M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering form Stanford University in 1999 and 2002, respectively. He helped develop CDMA systems as an engineer at Qualcomm from 1995 to 1997, and has served as a frequent consultant on communication systems to numerous clients in both industry and the government, including Microsoft, Ricoh, Teledex, and NASA.

The program for the upcoming symposium will follow last year's format, which was widely well-received. The symposium will begin with panel discussions by wireless industry leaders on the morning of Oct. 21, followed by plenary talks in the afternoon. The second day will focus on techincal research materials as guests have the opportunity to attend four different techincal session tracks.

Be sure to mark your calendars for this exciting wireless event!