Seattle Communications (COM-19) Society Chapter

 

Monday, September 29, 2008

 

Sponsors:

  • Communications Society (COM-19)

 Topic: Anytime, Anywhere: The Wireless Revolution

Speaker: H. Vincent Poor, Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Michael Henry Strater University Professor of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University

Date/Time:  Monday, September 29, 2008, 4:30-5:50 pm

Location:    Room 134
          Sieg Hall
          University of Washington
          Seattle, WA 98105  

Abstract:

Wireless communication is one of the most advanced, and most rapidly advancing, technologies of our time. The pace of adoption of wireless technology has been breathtaking: one wireless technology alone - cellular communications - is now used by half the world's population, after less than twenty-five years in existence. This unprecedented growth in the use of wireless has been driven by the freedom afforded by the "anytime, anywhere" connectively that it makes possible. Wireless is also one of the most valuable technologies to society, both in terms of applications and in terms of the trillions of dollars of investment and revenue it generates worldwide. After addressing the question "what is wireless, and why should we care?" this talk will discuss the current landscape in wireless, some of the technical, social and political challenges it presents, and some of what the future holds for this technology.

Speaker Biography:

H. Vincent Poor is Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University, where he is also the Michael Henry Strater University Professor of Electrical Engineering. He has been involved in research, teaching and consulting in the field of wireless communications for three decades. Prior to joining the Princeton faculty in 1990, he taught at the University of Illinois for thirteen years, and he has also held a number of visiting appointments in the US and abroad, including recently at Harvard, Stanford and Imperial College. Dr. Poor is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and a former Guggenheim Fellow. He is also a Fellow of the IEEE and other scientific and technical organizations. He is a former President of the IEEE Information Theory Society, and a former Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Information Theory. Recent recognition of his work includes the 2005 IEEE Education Medal and the 2007 IEEE Marconi Prize Paper Award. In addition to his professional involvement with wireless technology, he has also taught about the political, social and economic dimensions of this technology to hundreds of Princeton students from all majors, through his course "The Wireless Revolution," which has at times been among the largest courses taught at Princeton.