Title: Towards Sustainable Multi-Access and Multi-Functional Wireless Networks

Speaker: Prof. Christos Masouros(IEEE Fellow)

Affiliation: University College London

Abstract: The future Global cellular infrastructure will underpin smart city applications, urban security, infrastructure monitoring, smart mobility, among an array of emerging applications that require new network functionalities beyond communications. Key network KPIs for 6G involve Gb/s data rates, cm-level localization, μs-level latency, Tb/Joule energy efficiency. Future networks will also need to support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to ensure sustainability, net-zero emissions, resilience and inclusivity. The multifunctionality and the net-zero emissions agenda necessitate a redesign of the signals and waveforms for 6G and beyond. In this talk, we first explore a recent research direction involving symbol-level precoding (SLP) approaches that treat interference as a useful resource in multi-access communication systems. These have been shown to offer orders of magnitude savings in power consumption, over a range of communication scenarios. The second part of the talk focuses on enabling the multi-functionality of signals and wireless transmissions, as a means of hardware reuse and carbon footprint reduction. We overview recent research in the area of integrated sensing and communications (ISAC), that is a paradigm shift that enables a both sensing and communication functionalities from a single transmission, a single spectrum use and ultimately a common infrastructure. With the rising demand for sustainability and resilience from the network infrastructure, the above technologies are becoming essential building blocks of the wireless network.

Biography: 

Christos Masouros (FIEEE, MIET) received the Diploma degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Patras, Greece, in 2004, and MSc by research and PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Manchester, UK in 2006 and 2009 respectively. In 2008 he was a research intern at Philips Research Labs, UK, working on the LTE standards. Between 2009-2010 he was a Research Associate in the University of Manchester and between 2010-2012 a Research Fellow in Queen's University Belfast. In 2012 he joined University College London as a Lecturer. He has held a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship between 2011-2016. Since 2019 he is a Full Professor of Signal Processing and Wireless Communications in the Information and Communication Engineering research group, Dept. Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and affiliated with the Institute for Communications and Connected Systems, University College London. His research interests lie in the field of wireless communications and signal processing with particular focus on Green Communications, Large Scale Antenna Systems, Integrated Sensing and Communications, interference mitigation techniques for MIMO and multicarrier communications. Between 2018-22 he was the Project Coordinator of the €4.2m EU H2020 ITN project PAINLESS, involving 12 EU partner universities and industries, towards energy-autonomous networks. Between 2024-28 he will be the Scientific Coordinator of the €2.7m EU H2020 DN project ISLANDS, involving 19 EU partner universities and industries, towards next generation vehicular networks. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, Fellow of the Artificial Intelligence Industry Alliance (AIIA) and the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA), and was the recipient of the 2023 IEEE ComSoc Stephen O. Rice Prize, co-recipient of the 2021 IEEE SPS Young Author Best Paper Award and the recipient of the Best Paper Awards in the IEEE GlobeCom 2015 and IEEE WCNC 2019 conferences. He is an IEEE ComSoc Distinguished lecturer 2024-2025, and his work on ISAC has been featured in the World Economic Forum’s report on the top 10 emerging technologies. He has been recognised as an Exemplary Editor for the IEEE Communications Letters, and as an Exemplary Reviewer for the IEEE Transactions on Communications. He is an Area Editor for IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, Editor for the IEEE Open Journal of Signal Processing, and Editor-at-Large for IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society. He has been an Editor for IEEE Transactions on Communications, IEEE Communications Letters, and a Guest Editor for a number of IEEE Journal on Selected Topics in Signal Processing and IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications issues. He is a founding member and Vice-Chair of the IEEE Emerging Technology Initiative on Integrated Sensing and Communications (SAC), Vice Chair of the IEEE Wireless Communications Technical Committee Special Interest Group on ISAC, and Chair of the IEEE Green Communications & Computing Technical Committee, Special Interest Group on Green ISAC. He is a member of the IEEE Standards Association Working Group on ISAC performance metrics, and a founding member of the ETSI ISG on ISAC. He is the TPC chair for the IEEE ICC 2024 Selected Areas in Communications (SAC) Track on ISAC, Chair of the IEEE PIMRC2024 Track 1 on PHY and Fundamentals, Chair of the "Integrated Imaging and Communications" stream in IEEE CISA 2024, and TPC Co-Chair of IEEE VTC 2025.