Analysis and simulations for a typical wireless environment with fading, multipath, and shadowing will be used to decide whether the potential gains in capacity and performance promised by adaptive methods can be truly realized in practice. This is an NSF group project aimed at the design of agile wireless networks that accommodate time variations in the communication channels, the information sources, and the network topology. Performance evaluation and design for communication networks of the future is conducted. Emphasis is placed on large, high-speed networks. Both optical and electronic networks are considered.
Analysis consists of a mixture of exact probabilistic and combinatorial methods and simulation.
Design is motivated by modeling and analysis and aided by optimization tools of both combinatorial and nonlinear iterative types. We begin a new initiative in cryptography at the U of I to match the huge growth in its use in electronic commerce. This research will develop techniques for detecting, handling, and correcting such failures. By taking advantage of the dynamic structure of the systems and networks, we intend to relax the traditional assumption that the checking mechanism be fault-free. We also intend to characterize the fundamentals limits and trade-offs in designing for dynamic fault tolerance and to develop a set of guideline criteria for the construction of reliable dynamics systems and networks from unreliable components.