Stuart Milner
Research Professor and Director, Center for Networking of Infrastructure Sensors
A.J. Clark School of Engineering
University of Maryland at College Park

Wireless communication networks that can self-organize or autonomously reconfigure their network topologies in response to degradation and/or loss of system function/connectivity as well as dynamic application requirements represent a new and potentially transformative research idea. Our non-traditional and interdisciplinary approach to the investigation of self-organizing capabilities of wireless networks uses physics-based models and tools that draw on the dynamics of multiple-connected atoms that form a molecular network.

We have been proposing a two tiered, hybrid architecture for next generation dynamic wireless communication networks, whereby end users are organized in limited size clusters (mobile ad hoc networks) interconnected via a directional wireless backbone (DWB). As next generation networks become increasingly complex systems and users require assured connections, traditional optimization and topology control approaches fail to accurately characterize and effectively control their dynamic behavior.

Our research efforts strongly suggest:
• The potential of self-organizing DWB networks to provide assured end-to-end connectivity in next generation dynamic communication networks.
• The need of new techniques and methodologies to cope with the increasing complexity of such heterogeneous and dynamic

We have developed a novel framework for the characterization and control of next generation dynamic wireless networks based on modeling communication networks as physical systems whose robustness is dictated by fundamental physical principles (such as potential energy) that drive the evolution of systems in nature by making them adaptive and robust against their environment.

Short Bio:

Stuart D. Milner is a Research Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Director of the Center for Networking of Infrastructure Sensors, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. He received his B.S. from the University of Maryland, his M.S. from the University of Georgia, and his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. His research projects and interests are in sensor networks, dynamic topology control, adaptive mobile networks, optical wireless and directional RF systems, and network science. Previously, he was a Program Manager in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, where he directed research and development programs in advanced networking technologies, large-scale simulation networks, and wireless networks.