News

Every Spring, Texas ECE’s Awards Banquet celebrates the achievements of the department’s outstanding students and faculty. Three WNCG members were among those honored at this year’s event, which was held last week on May 6. WNCG Student Ahmed Kord won the prestigious Graduate Student Excellence Award for 2018-2019. The department confers this prize annually on one graduate student who has demonstrated “high academic achievement in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.”

WNCG faculty member Constantine Caramanis was one of five associate professors in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (ECE) promoted to full professor this spring. Caramanis joined UT ECE and WNCG in the fall of 2006; he is currently the WNCG’s assistant director. His research interests include: Decision-making under uncertainty, Statistical learning and data driven decision-making, Large scale networks and computation, and Adaptive Control and Optimization.

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 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. 

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.

WNCG Faculty and students met on Sunday with researchers from the Center for Transportation Research (CTR) and other UT Austin Cockrell School Engineers during the first-ever UT Village at SXSW Interactive 2015. This year's event featured panels and interactive research demonstrations and was open to all SXSW Interactive 2015 Badge Holders. Click the image below to view the complete slideshow from the day's events.  

Manassas Virginia, January 28, 2015 - The Institute of Navigation (ION) presented its Thomas L. Thurlow Award to Dr. Todd Humphreys at the ION International Technical Meeting (ITM)in Dana Point, California, January 26-28, 2015. Dr. Humphreys was recognized for contributions that enhance radionavigation security and robustness in the face of intentional spoofing and natural interference.