News

WNCG alumna Nasim Mohammadi Estakhri recently received a Graduate Student Fellowship from the IEEE Photonics Society. The program provides fellowships to outstanding graduate students pursuing education within the society’s field of interest. The fellowship is usually awarded to a student who, at the time of nomination, are in their final year of graduate study.

Prof. Andrea Alù was recently appointed as a Simons Investigator in Physics. This program aims to provide a stable base of support for outstanding scientists, and enables them to undertake long-term investigations of fundamental questions in their fields. Each year, the Simons Foundation invites nominations from universities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom for the Simons Investigators in Mathematics, Physics, Theoretical Computer Science and the Mathematical Modeling of Living Systems (MMLS) programs.

WNCG Prof. Todd Humphreys and his group of researchers in the Radionavigation Laboratory made headlines in recent months with their major breakthroughs in centimeter-accurate positioning. A few of the students have already created a startup spin-off to push these breakthroughs in precise positioning to the mass market.

WNCG student Jason Soric received Honorable Mention in the Student Paper Competition at the IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and North American Radio Science Meeting. The symposium, which was held in Vancouver, Canada this summer, provides an international forum for the exchange of information on state-of-the-art research in antennas, propagation, electromagnetic engineering and radio science.

WNCG student Ken Pesyna was selected as a 2015 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar. The award recognizes Pesyna’s academic achievements and leadership in the field of communications and information science. Pesyna was selected because his outstanding work in centimeter-accurate and power-efficient smartphone positioning, his excellent academic record and his demonstrated entrepreneurial capabilities.

Imagine drawing a light painting using a phone’s antenna and GPS system. Imagine a world of virtual reality, where buildings are perfect replicas of their real-world counterparts, down to the exact height of a piece of gum stuck under a desk. Where a person cannot only see their location on the street but also the exact height and orientation of their mobile device in hand. This world of imagination and precise positioning is now becoming a reality, and through the efforts of WNCG students, even finding its way to market. 

WNCG Postdoctoral Associate Juan Sebastian Gomez-Diaz received the Junior Raj Mittra Travel Grant (RMTG) award to attend the 2015 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and North American Radio Science Meeting, which will take place in Vancouver, Canada this July.

Last month, Todd Humphreys, an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics and WNCG, testified before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency. Humphreys was asked to speak at the hearing, "Unmanned Aerial System Threats: Exploring Security Implications and Mitigation Technologies," because of his expertise in unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs. Watch the full video, or segments.

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.

An incubator of cutting-edge technologies and digital creativity, SXSW Interactive 2015 featured five days of presentations and panels from the brightest minds in emerging technology. Special programs showcased new websites, video games and startup ideas from the community.