Three Faculty to Join WI

As part of the WI, Flynn will be focusing on growing research and academic opportunities in the area of mobile computing. “Mobile computing and related devices have seen significant rise in recent years here at the university and around the world,” says Flynn. This is reflected in his research. For example, Flynn and his team will be pursuing projects such as the development of mobile computing device concepts and architectures, the enhancement of mobile device core software, and usability studies of mobile software.

He will also be supporting and developing courses for undergraduate computer science majors, each of which provides a strong mobile application development component.” Flynn expects the current and new courses to draw even more students as smartphones, tablets, and other mobile/embedded devices become more prominent, creating increased consumer demand and increased employment opportunities.

A Notre Dame faculty member since 2011, Flynn is a fellow of the International Association for Pattern Recognition, senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and a member of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). He received his Ph.D. in computer science from Michigan State University.

Gupta’s research is in the domain of cyber-physical systems (CPS), also known as sensor-actuator networks or networked and embedded control systems. The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has called for placing CPS at the top of the national priorities in networking and information technology research and development. Gupta will be working to understand and design a systematic design theory (and related interfaces) for the next generation of engineered systems that would unify diverse branches of systems theory including estimation and control, networks, communication, information theory, distributed processing, and social networks.

Complementary to the focus of the WI, Gupta believes “a joint design approach between the communication and networking algorithms on one hand and estimation and control on the other, will lead to a smarter utilization of the available spectrum as well as provide the basis for an information-theoretic framework that considers a utility-based value of information.

Gupta, who joined the University in 2008, is a member of the IEEE. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology.

Liu, a faculty member since 1960, will be supporting WI researchers as they publish the results of their research and seek additional external funding in the area of wireless communications. “Wireless technology, information technology, is critical to the future of society. It also happens to be a strength of the University, one through which we can contribute to the common good,” he says.

An IEEE life fellow, Liu is also a member of Sigma Xi, the scientific research society; Tau Beta Pi the engineering honor society; and Pi Mu Epsilon, the honorary national mathematics society. The recipient of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society’s Mac Van Valkenburg Award, he has also received the IEEE’s Technical Achievement Award, Third Millennium Medal, Golden Jubilee Medal, and Meritorious Service Award. In addition, he is an Alexander Von Humboldt Senior Research Award recipient. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.