Vijay K. Shah

Assistant Professor, George Mason University

328 Research Hall
10401 York River Rd, Fairfax, VA 22030
Phone: +1 703-993-6757
Email: vshah22@gmu.edu
GMU

Vijay is an Assistant Professor in the Cybersecurity Engineering (CYSE) Department in the School of Engineering and Computing at George Mason University (GMU), Virginia, USA since 2021. Prior to joining Mason, he was a Research Assistant Professor in the Bradley Department of ECE at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA and was affiliated with Wireless@Virginia Tech Research Lab since 2019.

My research interests focus on the experimental research and prototyping of next-generation cellular communication systems in the following key research areas.

  • 5G/Next-G Cellular Networks
  • Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) Architecture
  • AI/ML for Wireless
  • Wireless Cybersecurity
  • Age of Information (AoI) and Low-latency Wireless Communications
  • mmWave Communications and Beamforming
  • Dynamic Spectrum Sharing
  • UAV Communications and Networking

My research is supported in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST ), Commonwealth Cyber Initiative ( CCI). I am an Adjunct faculty member of the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. I am also a faculty member of Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI), a Virginia state-wide initiative to foster 5G wireless, autonomous systems, data and cybersecurity research.

Check out my NextG lab website www.nextgwirelesslab.org for latest research updates.

RECENT NEWS

  • Sep., 2023 [Grant] Our NSF SaTC proposal on "RIS Security" was awarded by NSF.
  • August, 2023 [News] Our Open AI Cellular (OAIC) platform (based on SDRs) has featured National Instruments Wireless Research Customer Stories. Link: https://www.ni.com/en/forms/wireless-research-customer-stories.html
  • August, 2023 [Paper Acceptance] Our paper on "SenseORAN: O-RAN based Radar Detection in the CBRS Band" has been accepted to IEEE JSAC Special issue on Open RAN, 2023.
  • August, 2023 [Paper Acceptance] Our paper on "Experimental Study of Adversarial Attacks on ML-based xApps in O-RAN" has been accepted to IEEE GLOBECOM 2023 .
  • August, 2023 [Paper Acceptance] Our paper on "Deep Learning Based Fast and Accurate Beamforming for Millimeter-Wave Systems" has been accepted to IEEE MILCOM 2023 .
  • August, 2023 [Grant] Our proposal on "Millimeter Wave IoT networks" was awarded the CCI Fellowship grant.
  • March, 2023 [Grant] Our CCRI proposal on "Space Networks" has been awarded by NSF.
  • Feb, 2023 [Service] Invited to join Editorial Board for Computer Networks.
  • Feb, 2023 [Service] Invited to serve on the TPC for WiseML 2023.
  • Feb, 2023 [Paper Acceptance] Interference classification paper accepted to IEEE INFOCOM workshop on Deep Learning for Wireless Communications, Sensing, and Security (DeepWireless) 2023.
  • Jan, 2023 [Invited Talk] "5G-IPS: 5G-based Indoor Positioning System for Emergency Responders in GPS-limited Indoor Scenarios" at ICDCN workshop on Emergency Response Technologies and Services (EmeRTeS) 2023.
  • Nov, 2022 [Invited Talk] "Enabling 5G/NextG Network with Open RAN Architectures" at Research Scholar Day at National Institute of Technology (NIT) Durgapur, India.
  • Nov, 2022 [Paper Acceptance] O-RAN testing framework paper accepted to IEEE Wireless Communications Magazine 2022
  • Oct, 2022 [Service] Invited to serve on the TPC of ACM MobiHoc 2023.
  • Oct, 2022 [News] Our 5G-IPS project was featured in Mason and dronelife.com.
  • August, 2022 [Paper Acceptance] DeepIA paper accepted to IEEE TNSE 2022
  • July, 2022 [Paper Acceptance] UAV backhauling paper accepted to IEEE TNSM 2022
  • June, 2022 [Paper Acceptance] UAV optimization paper accepted to IEEE IoT Journal [ arXiv ].
  • June, 2022 [Paper Acceptance] Interference suppression survey paper accepted to IEEE Access [ arXiv ].
  • June, 2022 [Grant] Our 5G-enabled Indoor Positioning System (5G-IPS) proposal has been funded by the NIST.
  • May, 2022 [Service] Invited to serve on the TPC of IEEE COMSNETS 2023.
  • May, 2022 [Service] Invited to serve on the TPC of IEEE MILCOM 2022.
  • May, 2022 [PhD Defense] My first PhD student, Biplav Choudhury, (co-advised with Prof. Jeff Reed) successfully defended his PhD dissertation and becomes Dr. Choudhury. Many Congratulations!
  • March, 2022 [Service] Invited to serve on the TPC of IEEE SECON 2022.
  • March, 2022 [Paper Acceptance] O-RAN paper accepted to IEEE Network Magazine [ arXiv ].
  • February, 2022 [Service] Invited to serve on the TPC of IEEE ICNP 2022.
  • February, 2022 [Service] Invite to serve as one of the Publicity Chair of IEEE SECON 2022.
  • February, 2022 [Service] Invited to serve on the TPC f of SLICES workshop 2022 (in conjunction with IFIP Networking 2022).
  • February, 2022 [Service] Invited to serve as one of the Topic Editor for Frontiers in Space Technology - Research Topic "Space Networks: Inter- and Intra-Connectivity" .
  • January, 2022 [New Members] Vikram and Ta-seen joined NextG Wireless Lab@Mason as PhD students. Welcome on board!
  • January, 2022 [Service] Invited to serve as one of the Topic Editor for Frontiers in Communications and Networks - Research Topic "SDN migration challenges and practices in ISP/Telcos Networks" .
  • December, 2021 [Grant] Two of our NextG Security proposals have been funded by Commonwealth Cyber Initiative under "Securing NextG" program.
  • November, 2021 [Short Talk] Short talk on Open AI Cellular (OAIC) at Open 5G Forum . Find more info on OAIC at here and here .
  • October, 2021 [Service] Review committee member IEEE COMSNETS Posters 2022
  • October, 2021 [Service] TPC member of IEEE SMARTCOMP 2022
  • October, 2021 [Service] TPC member of ACM/IEEE SEC Posters 2021
  • September, 2021 [Paper Acceptance] Paper accepted to IEEE MILCOM 2021
  • August, 2021 [PhD Defense] Avik Dayal successfully defended his PhD dissertation and becomes Dr. Dayal. Many Congratulations! He will be joining John Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.
  • August, 2021 [Paper Acceptance] Paper accepted to IEEE IoT Journal 2021
  • August, 2021 [Grant] NSF SWIFT grant awarded.
  • August, 2021 [Service] TPC member of IEEE MILCOM 2021
  • August, 2021 [Service] TPC member of IEEE GLOBECOM Wireless-Sec 2021
  • August, 2021 [Service] TPC member of IEEE ANTS 2021
  • July, 2021 [Grant] NSF CCRI grant awarded.
  • July, 2021 [Paper Acceptance] Paper accepted to IEEE MASS 2021
  • June, 2021 [M.S. Thesis Defense] Darshan A. Ravi successfully defended his M.S. thesis defense. Many Congratulations! He will be joining Analog Devices.
  • June, 2021 [GRANT] CCI Research Infrastructure Grant awarded.
  • May, 2021 [Service] TPC member of IEEE Milcom 2021
  • April, 2021 [Paper Acceptance] Paper accepted to IEEE TNSM 2021
  • April, 2021 [Paper Acceptance] Paper accepted to IEEE Wireless Communications Letters
  • April, 2021 [Paper Acceptance] Paper accepted to ISIE 2021
  • April, 2021 [Service] TPC member of IEEE REFRESH 2021 . (co-located with IEEE DCOSS 2021)
  • April, 2021 [Service] TPC member of IEEE WiMob 2021
  • April, 2021 [Paper Acceptance] Paper accepted to IFIP Networking 2021
  • March, 2021 [Service] Co-chairing ACM 6G-ABS 2021 workshop, co-located with ACM MobiCom 2021
  • March, 2021 [Service] TPC member of IEEE Wi-DroIT 2021 (co-located with IEEE DCOSS 2021)
  • March, 2021 [Service] TPC member of IEEE WPSN 2021 (co-located with IEEE DCOSS 2021)
  • Feb, 2021 [Seminar] Invited Seminar Talk at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), BHU, India. Talk title - "Artificial Intelligence meets 5G Networks"
  • Feb, 2021 [Service] Publicity chair for ACM ICDCN 2022
  • Jan, 2021 [GRANT] Co-PI for an ARL Grant
  • Dec, 2020 [GRANT] PI/Co-PIs for three CCI grants awarded under Cybersecurity Research Collaboration
  • Dec, 2020 [Paper Acceptance] Paper accepted to IEEE INFOCOM 2021
  • Dec, 2020 [Paper Acceptance] Paper accepted to Computer Communications
  • Nov, 2020 [GRANT] Co-PI for a CCI grant under CCI Art and Design Collaboration Program
  • Oct, 2020 [GRANT] Co-PI on a NSF CCRI Planning Grant
  • Sept, 2020 [Seminar] Invited Seminar Talk at Missouri S&T, Rolla. Talk title - "The Freshness of Information: Age of Information and V2X Networks"
  • Aug, 2020 [Paper Acceptance] Paper accepted to IEEE GLOBECOM 2020

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). For more information, check out NextG lab website https://nextgwirelesslab.org.

Research Grants & Funding

Current Grants

  • [NSF] Securing Next G Millimeter-Wave Communication in Programmable RF Environments with Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (SECURIS [Abstract]
  • [CCI Fellow] Open-Milli-IoT: An Open Programmable Platform mmWave Wireless Internet of Things
  • [NSF] Distributed Space and Terrestrial Networking Infrastructure for Multi-Constellation Coexistence [Abstract]
  • [NIST] 5G-based Indoor Positioning System for Firefighters using UAVs (5G-IPS) [ link ]
  • [NSF SWIFT 2021] Collaborative Research: SWIFT: Context-aware Spectrum Coexistence dEsign aNd implemenTation in satellite bands (ASCENT). [Abstract]
  • [NSF CCRI 2021] Collaborative Research: CCRI: New: Open AI Cellular (OAIC): Prototyping Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Control and Testing Systems for Cellular Communications Research. [Abstract]

Past Grants

  • [CCI Securing NextG] DoS Attack-Resilient Initial Access for mmWave/THz based NextG Communications.
  • [CCI Securing NextG] Securing Softwarization and Disaggregation in NextG: Call To Disaggregate Trust Management.

Current PhD Students

  • Vikramreddy Anapana, GMU (Spring 2022 - )
  • Ta-seen Niloy, GMU (Spring 2022 -)
  • Sarik Dhungel, GMU (Fall 2022 -)
  • Azuka Chiejina, GMU (Fall 2023 -)
  • Pranshav Gajjar, GMU (Fall 2023 - )
  • Sebastian Kwakye, GMU (Fall 2023 -)

Current Undergraduate Students

  • Nathan Stephenson, GMU (Summer 2022 -)
  • Nathaniel Kabigting, GMU (Spring 2023 -)
  • Luis Alejandro Nino Walder, GMU (Spring 2023 - )
  • Nicolas Ammann, GMU (Fall 2023 -)

Past Postdocs and Students

  • Naveen Sapavath, Postdoc. Initial Appointment: Assistant Teaching Professor at WIoT, ECE, Northeastern University
  • 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.

Publications

Please find the complete list of publications on Google Scholar.

Selected Journals

AI Testing Framework for Next-G O-RAN Networks: Requirements, Design, and Research Opportunities
Bo Tang, Vijay K. Shah, Vuk Marojevic, and Jeffrey H. Reed
IEEE Wireless Communications Magazine 2022 (Accepted).
Preprint available on [arXiv]

Deep Learning for Fast and Reliable Initial Access in AI-Driven 6G mmWave Networks
Tarun Cousik, Vijay K. Shah , Tugba Erpek, Yalin Sagduyu and Jeffrey H. Reed
IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering, Special Issue on AI-Driven 6G Mobile Wireless Networks: Key Enabling Theories, Architectures, Protocols and Techniques
Preprint availabe on [arXiv]

Towards Next Generation Open Radio Access Network -- What O-RAN Can and Can not Do!
Aly S. Abdalla, Pratheek S. Upadhyaya, Vijay K. Shah, and Vuk Marojevic
IEEE Network Magazine 2022 (Accepted).
Preprint available on [arXiv]

RAN Slicing in Multi-MVNO Environment under Dynamic Channel Conditions
Darshan A. Ravi, Vijay K. Shah, Chengzhang Li, Thomas Hou, and Jeffrey H. Reed
IEEE Internet of Things Journal 2021.
Preprint available on [arXiv]

Exploring Biological Robustness for Reliable Multi-UAV Networks
Krishnandu Hazra, Vijay K. Shah, Satyaki Roy, Swaraj Deep, Sujoy Saha and Subrata Nandi
IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management, Vo. 18, Issue 3, 2021

3D Placement and Orientation of mmWave-based UAVs for Guaranteed LoS Coverage
Javad Sabzehali, Vijay K. Shah, Harpreet Dhillon, and Jeffrey H. Reed
IEEE Wireless Communication Letters, Vol. 10, Issue 8, 2021
Preprint availabe on [arXiv]

A Diverse Band-aware Dynamic Spectrum Access Network Architecture for Delay-Tolerant Smart City Applications
Vijay K. Shah, Brian Luciano, Shameek Bhattacharjee, Simone Silvestri, and Sajal K. Das
IEEE Transactions on Network Service and Management, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2020

QnQ: Quality and Quantity based Unified Approach for Secure and Trustworthy Mobile Crowdsensing
Vijay K. Shah, Shameek Bhattacharjee, Simone Silvestri, and Sajal K. Das
IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, Vol. 19, No. 1, 2018

Design of Robust and Efficient Topology using Enhanced Gene Regulatory Networks
Satyaki Roy, Vijay K. Shah, and Sajal K. Das
IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological and Multi-Scale Communications, Vol. 4, Issue 2, 2018

Designing Green Communication Systems for Smart and Connected Communities via Dynamic Spectrum Access
Vijay K. Shah, Shameek Bhattacharjee, Simone Silvestri, and Sajal K. Das
ACM Transactions on Sensor Networks, Vol. 14, Issue 3-4, 2018

Selected Conference Papers

Fast Initial Access with Deep Learning for Beam Prediction in 5G mmWave Networks
Tarun Cousik, Vijay K. Shah , Tugba Erpek, Yalin Sagduyu and Jeffrey H. Reed
IEEE Military Communications Conference, 2021
Preprint available on [arXiv]

AoI-minimizing Scheduling in UAV-relayed IoT Networks
Biplav Choudhury, Vijay K. Shah, Aidin Ferdowsi, Jeffrey H. Reed, and Y. Thomas Hou
IEEE Conference on Mobile Ad-Hoc and Smart Systems, 2021
Preprint available on [arXiv]

Power Systems Performance under 5G Radio Access Network in a Co-Simulation Environment
Rahul Iyer, Biplav Choudhury, Vijay K. Shah, and Ali Mehrizi-Sani
IEEE Conference on Industrial Electronics, 2021
Preprint available on [arXiv]

Adaptive Semi-Persistent Scheduling for Enhanced On-Road Safety in Decentralized V2X Networks
Avik Dayal, Vijay K. Shah, Biplav Choudhury, Vuk Marojevic, Carl Dietrich, and Jeffrey H. Reed
IFIP Networking, 2021
Preprint available on [arXiv]

Joint Age of Information and Self Risk Assessment of 802.11p based V2V Networks
Biplav Choudhury, Vijay K. Shah, Avik Dayal, Jeffrey H. Reed
IEEE Conference on Computer Communications, 2021
Preprint available on [arXiv]

Cross-layer Band Selection and Routing Design for Diverse Band-aware DSA Networks
Pratheek S. Upadhyaya, Vijay K. Shah, and Jeffrey H. Reed
IEEE Global Communications Conference, 2020
Preprint available on [arXiv]

Experimental Analysis of Safety Application Reliability in V2V Networks
Biplav Choudhury, Vijay K. Shah, Avik Dayal, Jeffrey H. Reed
IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference Recent Results, 2020
Preprint available on [arXiv]

Bio-DRN: Robust and Energy-efficient Bio-inspired Disaster Response Networks
Vijay K. Shah, Satyaki Roy, Simone Silvestri, and Sajal K. Das
IEEE Conference on Mobile Ad-Hoc and Smart Systems, 2019

X-CHANT: A Diverse DSA based Network Architecture for Next-generation Challenged Networks
Vijay K. Shah, Simone Silvestri, Brian Luciano and Sajal K. Das
IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications, 2019

Designing Sustainable Smart Connected Communities using Dynamic Spectrum Access via Band Selection
Vijay K. Shah, Shameek Bhattacharjee, Simone Silvestri, and Sajal K. Das
ACM Conference on Systems for Energy-Efficient Built Environments, 2017

QnQ: A Reputation Model to Secure Mobile Crowdsourcing Applications from Incentive Losses
Shameek Bhattacharjee, Nirnay Ghosh, Vijay K. Shah, and Sajal K. Das
IEEE International Conference on Communications and Network Security, 2017

TEACHING

SELECTED HONORS AND AWARDS

2019
Tau Beta Pi College of Engineering 2019 Outstanding Computer Science Ph.D. Student Award.
2016 - 2019
Five ACM/IEEE Student Travel Grant Awards
  • IEEE SECON 2019
  • IEEE COMSNETS 2019
  • ACM BuildSys 2017
  • ACM WiSec 2017
  • IEEE PerCom 2016
2018
Poster award at Second Annual Commonwealth Computational Summit (CCS2) 2018 at University of Kentucky. (Two posters get selected for the award.)
2017
Poster award at First Annual Commonwealth Computational Summit (CCS2) 2017 at University of Kentucky. (Two posters get selected for the award.)
2017
Poster award at CS Student (Ph.D. Category) Research Poster Competition (CSSRPC) organized by Computer Science Department at Missouri S&T, Rolla, USA (Second position)
2017
Direct Admission of Students Abroad (DASA) Scholarship 2009-13 , sponsored by the Government of India.
2017
Mahatma Gandhi Scholarship 2006-07 sponsored by Indian Embassy at Kathmandu, Nepal.
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