Andrews Presents Tutorial at IWAS

Prof. Jeffrey Andrews co-presented a tutorial on "RF Wireless Basics" at the 1st Industrial Wireless Applications Summit (IWAS) held at the San Diego Convention Center on March 8, 2004. Dr. Andrews's co-presenters were Mihir Ravel, Vice Present of Technology and Corporate Development at National Instruments, and Eric Reifsnider, a Manager at Wireless Valley Communications. In paid attendance were about forty industrial engineers and business managers who see wireless networking as a key aspect to improving the efficiency and profitability of their business. Attendees wanted to learn more about both the building blocks of wireless technology, as well as the current state of the art.

The tutorial covered the fundamentals of digital wireless communication, including concepts needed to understand the many competing and emerging standards, and also covered how to deploy indoor wireless networks for industrial applications. For more information on this tutorial, please contact WNCG.

The Industrial Wireless Applications Summit and Showcase 2004 (IWAS) is the first event to serve engineers, plant managers, manufacturing personnel, and buyers who must make knowledgeable decisions about wireless components, products or systems that will potentially have a dramatic impact on products, industrial machinery, or plant processes. Common applications include RF ID of packages, pallets, and products; process controls, monitoring/sensing and telemetry applied to remotely located assets; wireless sensing of machine and control status for diagnostic and other purposes; wireless automation of functions on the factory floor, in and around the plant or in the field. The summit was held in tandem with the 12th Annual Wireless Systems Design Conference and Expo.

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, Palm, and NASA.