introduction

As the information age evolves, we are becoming more and more dependent on wireless communication networks to provide robust, ever-present connectivity to information. Advances in sensing, computing, and communication have enabled new ways in which information can be collected, processed, and disseminated wirelessly. While wireless networks are being deployed at a rapid pace, the growth and sustainability of heterogeneous wireless networks depends on further advancement of the theory and implementation of such networks. Point-to-point communication has largely been “solved” in the sense that practical performance of such links approaches theoretical bounds predicted by information theory. When multiple mobile devices communicate simultaneously, however, the bounds on communication are not known in many cases, and the practical implementation of large-scale wireless networks is still in its infancy.

The Adaptive Signal Processing and Emerging Communication Technologies (ASPECT) Laboratory at Western Washington University is at the forefront of wireless research at the physical layer. Our group investigates a range of problems relating to both the basic theory as well as the practical design strategies for next-generation wireless communication networks. The research in our group employs tools from a variety of areas, including communication and information theories, statistical signal processing, and adaptive parameter estimation. The ASPECT Lab is located in the Ross Engineering Technology Building at Western Washington University.