Paul Schmitt —research Statement

Ubiquitous, high-bandwidth Internet and cellular connectivity is no longer a goal, but an expectation for modern-day users. Such connectivity is heavily dependent on infrastructure that is both costly and slow to deploy. As data consumption and demand increase at rates akin to Moore’s Law, traditional infrastructure models begin to break down. In my thesis work, I have studied problems surrounding wireless and mobile connectivity in a multitude of environments, and have been particularly interested in locations where infrastructure fails to meet demand, as we can learn from these situations in order to inform new, novel solutions. My research interests span the areas of wireless network systems design, and network measurement and performance analysis. A common thread in my research is in-depth characterization of real-world connectivity in resource-limited environments, and the use of this analysis to subsequently inform system designs. Through comprehensive analysis across all tiers of real-world telecommunications infrastructure, my research produces solutions that solve fundamental connectivity problems, and in particular those that that manifest in challenging network environments. The contributions of my research to-date have in two primary dimensions: 1. Characterization and analysis of existing wireless systems to understand the current operating state of connectivity and inefficiencies therein [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. 2. System design of solutions for providing agile wireless connectivity in resource-limited settings [8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14].