NYU-Poly receives grant to advance wireless networking

Dropped calls, slow downloads and limited coverage may soon be a thing of the past thanks to research currently being conducted by three professors at the Polytechnic Institute of NYU.

NYU-Poly electrical and computer engineering professors Elza Erkip, Shivendra Panwar and Yao Wang recently received a $700,000 multiyear grant from the National Science Foundation to finance their research in cooperative networking, a technology that would increase the speed and reliability of wireless networks.

Anna Scaglione, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Davis, is also part of the research team.

Panwar said the team's main goal is to improve both the quality of signals being transmitted and the coordination of those signals. The researchers are also pushing for wireless standards that will, like electrical outlets, ensure the same wireless connection, regardless of service provider.

Panwar said the introduction of this research to NYU-Poly has given students exposure to the growing field of wireless technology, which has been integrated into their education through new lab research facilities.

"Very few schools, if any, offer those kind of courses," Panwar said. "It's the kind of specialized skills, knowledge and experience that we are able to give to our students which will make them more a lot more viable once they graduate."

The researchers have also collaborated with a Stern student group working on a project that would determine how to turn their technology research into a service product.