WNCG Alumnus Dr. Nick Olson received the UT Austin Margarida Jacome Dissertation Prize for his dissertation entitled “Modeling and analysis of 6G wireless networks using stochastic geometry.”
The Margarida Jacome Dissertation Award, established in memory of former UT Austin ECE professor Dr. Margarida Jacome, honors graduating or recent PhD alumni in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department for exceptional doctoral research and dissertation work.
Olson’s dissertation introduces new mathematical methods to better understand and design 6G wireless networks, which will use extremely high-frequency signals and combine communication with radar-like sensing. It builds on existing models to analyze how well these networks perform, focusing on coverage, data rates, and the effects of interference. New tools, such as a matrix function generalization of the Laplace transform, help study both terrestrial wireless networks and satellite systems, making the analysis more tractable. His research offers insights into key design challenges and trade-offs in next-generation wireless networks.
During his time at UT Austin, Olson was advised Professor Jeff Andrews, director of 6G@UT, and Professor Robert Heath of UC San Diego. Olson is now a researcher at Lincoln Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he is a technical staff member in the Communication Systems division.