I am an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University.

My research is at the intersection of data science and networking. My group develops data-driven optimization methodologies for communication and social networks, with a particular emphasis on distributed edge intelligence. Contemporary network architectures we investigate include Fog computing systems, the Internet of Things (IoT), and social learning networks (SLN), and our foundational techniques include convex and non-convex optimization, machine learning, and signal processing.

Prior to joining Purdue, I was the Associate Director of the EDGE Lab and a Lecturer of Electrical Engineering at Princeton University, where I received my PhD. My PhD thesis won the 2016 Bede Liu Best Dissertation Award in Electrical Engineering. I also co-founded the big data startup company Zoomi Inc based on my research, which has provided employee performance optimization to more than one million users worldwide.

I am also active in teaching. In addition to lecturing, I co-authored the book The Power of Networks: Six Principles That Connect Our Lives and have taught three Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on networking. Together, these MOOCs have reached over 400,000 students around the world since 2012.

Note to prospective graduate students: I am always on the lookout for highly motivated students who want to conduct research in my area. If you fit this description, feel free to send me an email that contains at least (i) your CV and (ii) something which demonstrates to me that you have read one of my recent papers. I apologize in advance that I cannot respond to every email.

Note to prospective postdocs: I currently have two positions available, one focused on machine learning (with a communications aspect) and the other focused on wireless communications (with a machine learning aspect). These positions will be joint with David Love in Purdue ECE. If you are interested, please send me an email with your CV. I apologize in advance that I cannot respond to every email.

News

  • Jan 2021: Two papers accepted to IEEE ICC 2021, one on secure automated modulation classification led by Rajeev, and one on learning-based channel estimation led by Myeung. Congrats Myeung and Rajeev!
  • Dec 2020: Our proposal Dynamic Spectrum Sharing 5G Network Enhancements Prototype (with Raytheon BBN Technologies [lead], D. Love, J. Krogmeier, and C. Wang) has been awarded by NSC.
  • Dec 2020: Our paper on device sampling for federated learning, led by Henry, was accepted to IEEE INFOCOM 2021. Congrats, Henry!
  • Nov 2020: Paper on fast convergent federated learning accepted to IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications.
  • Oct 2020: We are organizing the First International Workshop on Distributed Machine Learning and Fog Networks, which will be hosted at IEEE INFOCOM 2021. The details and CFP can be found here. Hope to see you there!
  • Sept 2020: Our paper on fog learning, led by Ali, was accepted to IEEE Communications Magazine, and our paper on federated learning with delay, led by Frank, was accepted to IEEE Globecom. Congrats, Frank and Ali!
  • Aug 2020: Our proposal Spectrum-Agile Cognitive Communications for Terrestrial and Space Applications (with UNM [lead], CMU, ISU, KU, and WSU) for an SII-Center planning grant was awarded by NSF.
  • Jul 2020: I received the 2020 Ruth and Joel Spira Outstanding Teacher Award from Purdue ECE.
  • May 2020: I received a 4.8/5.0 overall instructor evaluation in my second semester teaching at Purdue. Thanks to all my students in ECE 20875 for a great semester!
  • Apr 2020: Our project on Spectrum Machine Learning (with D. Love, T. Kim, M. Hashemi) has been funded by Crane.
  • Mar 2020: I received the 2020 Purdue ECE Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award.
  • Feb 2020: I was elevated to Senior Member of IEEE.