Wednesday 26 May 2021
2:00 PM (ET) – 3:30 PM (ET)
Virtual Event
Event Overview
Software-defined radio (SDR) technology is extensively being used across a wide range of research activities to help demonstrate feasibility of new algorithms and approaches that are rapidly defining the new current state-of-the-art in emerging wireless technologies (e.g., 5G/6G, drone networks) as well as providing new opportunities to explore the electromagentic (EM) spectrum world around us (e.g., radio astronomy, satellite communications, radar). Although SDR has become mainstream in research activities, it has not been widely used in the classroom environment to help students leap from theoretical concepts to practical hands-on learning.
This panel session will introduce three university educators that actively use SDR in the classroom over the past several years as a tool for enabling their students to make that leap to realizing how different the real-world really is from your typical undergraduate/graduate textbook on wireless communications and EM spectrum. The panel portion of the event, which takes place from 2:00 PM (ET) to 2:55 PM (ET), consists of the following individuals (panel presentation information and speaker biographies located at the bottom of this page):
- Moderator:
- Dr. Alexander M. Wyglinski, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Panelists:
- Dr. Fraida Fund, New York University
- Dr. Marc Lichtman, University of Maryland
- Dr. Cory Prust, Milwaukee School of Engineering
Following the panel session, a networking event will follow suite in a virtual videoconferencing environment (Gather.Town), where attendees can interact one-on-one with the panelists as well as each other. This part of the program will take place from 2:55 PM (ET) to 3:30 PM (ET).
Event Registration
Attendance is capped at 100 individuals. If you are interested in attending this virtual event, please complete the following Google Form (link below) by 11:59 PM (ET) on 24 May 2021. Only the first 100 responses will be eligible to register for this event.
Panelist Presentations
1,024 ways to teach with SDR
Dr. Fraida Fund, New York University
Abstract: Educators who are considering using software defined radio in the classroom face a dizzying array of choices, including hardware, software, and curriculum decisions. In this presentation, I will describe my experiences using software defined radio in different ways for a range of audiences, from high school to graduate school. I will share the decisions I made in designing each course or curriculum module, and the tradeoffs associated with those decisions.
Biography: Fraida Fund is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. She is also affiliated with NYU WIRELESS and the New York State Center for Advanced Technology in Telecommunications (CATT) at NYU Tandon. Her research interests include the economics of wireless communication networks, and the design of testbeds for experimentation in communication networks.
Teaching SDR and DSP to Undergrads within CS
Dr. Marc Lichtman, University of Maryland
Abstract: Dr. Lichtman will briefly discuss the course he designed and taught at The University of Maryland within the CS dept, introducing students in their senior year to SDR and DSP, as an elective. The first half of the course acts as a DSP and wireless comms primer, essentially condensing several courses that are normally taught at the graduate level within ECE, providing students with the necessary background by teaching DSP theory using diagrams, animations, practical demos, and code examples rather than a mathematically rigorous theoretical approach. The remainder of the course focuses on using SDRs to implement the DSP techniques they had learned. He has recently created a free online textbook based on his course, teaching SDR and DSP with Python, https://pysdr.org.
Biography: Dr. Marc Lichtman is an adjunct professor at The University of Maryland within the CS dept. His research interests include SDR, machine learning applied to wireless comms, spectrum sensing, LTE, 5G, and electronic warfare. Dr. Lichtman also works at Perspecta Labs as a research engineer, and is the Vice President of the GNU Radio Project, GNU Radio is a free and open source SDR framework and toolkit.
Teaching Introductory Communication Systems using SDR: Challenges, Benefits, and Lessons Learned
Dr. Cory J. Prust, Milwaukee School of Engineering
Abstract: Exposure to software-defined radio (SDR) technology is a valuable experience for undergraduate electrical and computer engineering students. Decreasing hardware costs and easy-to-use software tools have made SDR experimentation readily available to the undergraduate laboratory setting. However, especially for students who are still learning the fundamentals of communication systems, laboratory exercises must be carefully designed to reinforce foundational concepts, meaningfully engage and motivate students, and be presented at an appropriate technical level. This presentation will describe the development and deployment of hands-on SDR-based laboratories used in an introductory communication systems course. Lessons learned from multiple offerings of the course will be discussed.
Biography: Dr. Cory J. Prust is an Associate Professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). He earned his BSEE degree from MSOE in 2001 and his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 2006. Prior to joining MSOE in 2009, he was a Technical Staff member at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. He teaches courses in the signal processing, communication systems, and embedded systems areas. His technical interests include adaptive signal processing, radar systems, array processing, and software-defined radio systems.
Hands-On Wireless Communications Education: It’s More Than I/Q Representation
Dr. Alexander M. Wyglinski, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Abstract: In most undergraduate and graduate courses focusing on digital communication systems engineering, the concept of representing all information in terms of in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) comes up and becomes the foundation for many other concepts taught throughout the rest of the course. However, the treatment of I/Q tends to be over idealized and the real-world effects affecting this very important source of information is saved “for the next course”. With SDR technology, those real-world effects that are impacting the successful recovery of I/Q samples are experienced right away and the true challenges of digital communication systems engineering are experienced first hand. This introduction will provide some initial insight on the practical considerations when extracting I/Q samples from over-the-air and attempting to decode them for the purposes of recovering binary information.
Biography: Dr. Alexander M. Wyglinski is a Full Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Full Professor of Robotics Engineering (courtesy appointment) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA, as well as the Director of the Wireless Innovation Laboratory (WI Lab). Throughout his academic career, Dr. Wyglinski has published approximately 45 journal papers, over 120 conference papers, nine book chapters, and three textbooks. He is currently being or has been sponsored by organizations such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Naval Research Laboratory, MITRE Corporation, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Verizon, Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate, The MathWorks, Toyota InfoTechnology Center U.S.A., and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Wyglinski is a Senior Member of the IEEE, as well as a member of Sigma Xi, Eta Kappa Nu, and the ASEE.