Joseph Kabara

Room 403, IS Building
Wednesday, November 9, 2005
Welcome Coffee - 10:30-11:00 am
Talk - 11:00 -12:00Noon

Abstract: Sensor Networks are created by deploying small, very simple computers, which communicate information about their environment. These networks will soon appear and be used for monitoring stress on bridges, growth of crops and patient health in hospitals. These networks are formed through low-powered wireless communication between the computers comprising the network. Fundamentally different from current voice and data networks, the computers are small, very inexpensive, disposable and battery powered. Because they are battery powered, when the battery (energy store) is depleted the computer ceases to function and is no longer part of the network. Definitions of network death have been proposed in several papers, however we have found none of the definitions satisfactory for our prototype network. Additionally, initial measurements made in our lab appear to conflict with some of these definitions. In this talk I will present the current definitions, reasons why we have difficulty applying them, the initial measurements which conflict with the definitions and a possible direction of research to create a better definition.

Speaker's Bio:Joseph Kabara is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate Program in Telecommunications and Networking at the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to joining Pitt in the fall of 1997 he lectured at Vanderbilt University. Between 1988 and 1991 he was employed as an Electronics Engineer at the National Institutes of Health Division of Computer Research and Technology where he designed their networking infrastructure. Professor Kabara is a graduate of Vanderbilt University (Ph.D. E.E., 1997), Johns Hopkins University (M.S. E.E., 1991) and Marquette University (B.S. E.E., 1987). His current research interests include wireless network design to support capacity requirements, information assurance for wireless networks, efficient algorithms for controlling information flow in wireless networks, power limited networked sensor devices and the use of embedded neural networks as algorithms for managing data and networks. He is a Senior member of the IEEE. His research has been supported by the University of Pittsburgh, the state of Pennsylvania Link-2-Learn program, National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology and Microsoft.