Vijay K. Shah

PostDoc Opportunity in 5G/NextG Positioning

I am looking to hire a motivated postdoctoral fellow to conduct high-quality experimental wireless research in NextG Wireless Lab at George Mason University, starting August 2022 (or earlier). The successful candidate will contribute to the recently NIST-funded project on 5G-based Indoor Positioning System and will also have the opportunity to collaborate with other teammates at NextG Wireless Lab@Mason, and our academic and industry partners on the exciting topics of 5G/NextG communications, Open AI Cellular (OAIC), and spectrum sharing.

Project Description

This project proposes to design, prototype and demonstrate a highly precise 5G-based Indoor Positioning System (5G-IPS) that addresses three long-standing and difficult challenges in emergency environments (i) global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and traditional global positioning system (GPS) do not work reliably in indoor setting, (ii) reliable communication infrastructure may not always be available, and (ii) accurate mapping and visualization of the building map may not be available. UAVs mounted with 5G base stations or user equipment [UEs]) will be utilized for enabling cellular-based (viz. 5G NR) positioning along with specific enhancements to precisely localize firefighters within a building. Then, a key 5G capability, called network slicing, will be utilized to securely, reliably, and timely disseminate the time-critical position information (and other important audio/video or sensor information) from firefighters to the safety stakeholders that need to know it. Following this, a mapping and visualization tool will be prototyped to accurately track the position of firefighers within the visual 3D map of the building. The 5G-IPS system will be demonstrated in-lab using NextG Wireless Lab@Mason’s 5G O-RAN testbed, followed by in-field building test setting in collaboration with Arlington County Fire Department.

Required Qualifications

• PhD degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Telecommunications or related areas.
• Excellent knowledge of 5G/NextG wireless. Knowledge of machine learning will be a plus.
• Hands-on experience with at least one of the SDR platforms and FPGA programming.
• Very good publication record in top academic conferences and journals
• Excellent team player and good communication skills while being able to work independently.

Your application must include:

• A research statement (max. 2 pages) indicating your research interests, achievements, plans and how these fit with the above position requirements and our ongoing research
• Curriculum vitae including the list of publications, R&D skills, awards, fellowships, grants etc.
• Names of at least two references

How to Apply?

Send the required documents as a single pdf file directly to vshah22@gmu.edu, with Subject="Postdoc-application-FirstName-LastName".

Two PhD Positions Available

I am looking for two self-motivated students to join my group, starting Fall 2022 or Spring 2023. The selected candidate will be involved in carrying out experimental research and prototyping of next-generation wireless communications and networking, using in-lab 5G/NextG wireless testbed at Mason.

Required Qualifications

• Hold a M.S. (or B.S.) degree in ECE, CS, IT, Cybersecurity, or other related disciplines.
• Strong programming skills (e.g., Python, Matlab etc.)
• Solid background in mathematics and analytical thinking
• Excellent written and communication skills
• Ability to work in an inter-disciplinary team

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong background in wireless communications and networking, particularly, 5G and next-G technologies
• Hands-on experience with open-source cellular software, e.g., srsRAN, and software-defined radios, e.g., USRP X310.
• Hands-on experience with experimental research in communications and with communications testbeds
• Research experience and good publication record
• Hands-on experience with network simulators, such as, ns-3 and OMNET++.

How to Apply

Please email me at vshah22@gmu.edu with your CV, bachelor/master transcripts, and any relevant documents that will support your application. Formal application must be submitted to the Volgenau School of Engineering Graduate School.

NextG Wireless Lab@Mason

NextG Wireless Lab@Mason is a research group that focuses on research and prototyping of next-generation wireless communications and networking with a focus on 5G/6G cellular systems, wireless security, AI/ML to wireless, Open radio access network (O-RAN), and spectrum sharing. We primarily focus on the experimental research and prototyping of secure, intelligent cellular communication systems, leveraging open cellular software (such as srsRAN), and software-defined radios (such as, USRP X310s and N310s). You can find more information at the lab website https://nextgwirelesslab.org.

Active Grants & Funding

• [NIST] 5G-based Indoor Positioning System for Firefighters using UAVs (5G-IPS), $1, 199, 950, 07/2022 - 06/2025 [ link ]
• [CCI Securing NextG] DoS Attack-Resilient Initial Access for mmWave/THz based NextG Communications, $100, 000, 01/2022 - 08/2023
• [CCI Securing NextG] Securing Softwarization and Disaggregation in NextG: Call To Disaggregate Trust Management, $100, 000, 01/2022 - 08/2023
• [NSF SWIFT 2021] Collaborative Research: SWIFT: Context-aware Spectrum Coexistence dEsign aNd implemenTation in satellite bands (ASCENT), $562, 500, 10/2021 - 09/2024 [Abstract].
• [NSF CCRI 2021] Collaborative Research: CCRI: New: Open AI Cellular (OAIC): Prototyping Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Control and Testing Systems for Cellular Communications Research , $999, 947, 10/2021 - 09/2024 [Abstract].
• [CCI Cybersecurity Research Collaboration Fund] O-RAN Compatible User Driven RAN System for Next-generation Mobile and C-V2X Communications, $200, 000, 01/2021 - 12/2022
• [CCI Cybersecurity Research Collaboration Fund] 5GEM: 5G MEC-Enhanced C-V2X for Intersection Management, $220, 000, 01/2021 - 05/2022
• [CCI Cybersecurity Research Collaboration Fund] C3-5GPG: Cybersecure Communications and Control for a 5G-Enabled Power Grid, $200, 000, 01/2021 - 05/2022

Current PhD Students

• Vikramreddy Anapana, GMU (Spring 2021 - )
• Ta-seen Niloy, GMU (Spring 2021 -)
• Tarun S. Cousik, Virginia Tech (Co-advised with Jeff Reed)
• Pratheek Upadhyaya, Virginia Tech (Co-advised with Jeff Reed)

Current Undergraduate Students

• Nathan Stephenson, GMU (Summer 2022 - )
• Nadin Said, GMU (Summer 2022 -)

Past Students

Ph.D. and M.S. Student(s)

• Biplav Choudhury - Graduated in May, 2022
  Dissertation Title = "Information Freshness: How To Achieve It and It's Impact On Low Latency Autonomous Systems"
  Doctor of Philosphy, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech
  Initial Appointment: Senior Inventive Scientist at AT&T Labs
  
  
• Avik Dayal - Graduated in September, 2021
  Dissertation Title = "Practical Algorithms and Analyses for Next-Generation Decentralized Vehicular Networks"
  Doctor of Philosphy, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech
  Initial Appointment: Senior Staff at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab
  
  
• Darshan A. Ravi - Graduated in June, 2021
  Thesis Title = " Identifying and Prioritizing Critical Information in Military IoT: Video Game Demonstration"
  M.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech
  Initial Appointment: Wireless Engineer at Analog Devices
  
  

Undergrad Student(s)

1. Brian Luciano , Undergraduate Student at University at Kentucky. Currently at Cisco Corp.
2. Tej Patel , Undergraduate Student at University of Kentucky. Currently at AillianceBernstein.
3. Rishabh Patel , Undergraduate Student at IIT Guwahati, India. Currently at JP Morgans.
4. Parker Jones , Undergraduate Student at Missouri S&T, Rolla. Currently COO at Ellem Inc.