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The Wireless Networking and Communications Group is home to some of the brightest minds at The University of Texas at Austin. The Student Leadership Award is presented annually to the student or students who best embody WNCG’s mission and values: academic excellence, leadership, service, and a commitment to innovative and collaborative research. The 2023 award went to two very deserving graduates: Drs. Joshua Ebenezer and Ian Roberts.

Three Texas ECE faculty, Jon Tamir, Edison Thomaz, and Yaoyao Jia, have been selected to receive a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The award is the most prestigious offered by NSF’s CAREER Program, providing up to five years of funding to junior faculty members who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of their organizations’ missions.

Five Texas ECE faculty, Alex Hanson, Brian Johnson, Jaydeep Kulkarni, August Shi, and Atlas Wang have been selected to receive a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The award is the most prestigious offered by NSF’s CAREER Program, providing up to five years of funding to junior faculty members who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of their organizations’ missions.

Each year, WNCG presents the Student Leadership Award to an outstanding student—or students—who not only displays excellence in research and academic activities, but also embodies the spirit of the group’s mission to create a collaborative research environment. This year, the award goes to two students: Ahmad AlAmmouri and Jessica Hoffmann.

As an interdisciplinary center for research and education, WNCG is home to many talented minds. The group has grown steadily since its inception over 15 years ago and now comprises 23 faculty members and over 150 students and research staff. The upward trends don’t stop simply at the number of group members. Over the years, WNCG has built an exceptional network of industry partners, increased the number of its sponsored research projects yielding groundbreaking results, and successfully graduated Masters and Ph.D. students who go on to a wide range of careers in industry and academia.

WNCG alumnus Prof. Siddhartha Banerjee has been named a recipient of the National Science Foundation Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award. Banerjee received his doctorate from Texas ECE in 2013. As a member of WNCG, he was advised by Profs. Sanjay Shakkottai and Sujay Sanghavi. He is currently an Assistant Professor of operations research and information engineering at Cornell University, and he also serves as a technical consultant for popular rideshare service Lyft.

Each year, WNCG faculty nominate one outstanding student to receive the WNCG Student Leadership Award. The award is presented to a student based on their cumulative contributions to the center, including their representation of WNCG to the greater community, their mentorship of fellow students, their research visibility and recognition from external organizations.

WNCG Prof. Todd Humphreys, who is also part of the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at UT Austin received the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award totaling $500,000 from the National Science Foundation.

Prof. Evdokia Nikolova has been selected to receive a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation. The award is the most prestigious offered by NSF’s CAREER Program, providing up to five years of funding to junior faculty members who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of their organizations’ missions.

Every year, from the 100-plus graduate students that constitute WNCG, one or two students are recognized for their leadership: both contributions within WNCG and impact on the broader community. This year two students share this award: Omar and Tom. Omar, working towards his PhD with Prof. Robert Heath, has been a leading student contributor to several WNCG events: multiple open houses, board and WiCAT meetings, and TW Summits. He has also been a dependable resource for organizing student-led and student-oriented activities within WNCG. Omar has also represented WNCG at CTIA 2010.