An ambitious computer engineer leading research to develop the next generation of wireless technology was recently named the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Chair in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Miami Frost Institute for Data Science and Computing (IDSC).
Mingzhe Chen, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a core faculty member at IDSC, was honored to receive the title and its additional support for his lab. But more than that, Chen called the appointment a validation that his research is on the right track.
“Both IDSC and the University recognize the need for my work to design novel machine learning algorithms to help improve communication between smart devices, as well as address networking and security problems, like improving the energy efficiency of next-generation networks,” he said. “I definitely like it here, and the University provides great support for me.”
Chen joined the University in 2022, and since then, he has received three National Science Foundation (NSF) grants and authored, or co-authored, more than 50 research papers. His areas of expertise include the design of novel distributed machine learning methods, such as federated learning, which is a more private way to collaboratively train a computing model across several devices or institutions, like health care institutions. Using this method, Chen said that physicians from different hospitals could find a common machine learning model without data sharing and could use it to help predict disease or illnesses more safely and efficiently.
But Chen is also well-versed in using AI to develop projects for virtual reality, unmanned aerial vehicles, and smart devices, such as Amazon’s Alexa, smart appliances, and others that connect to the internet wirelessly. Chen has also received awards for his work from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and was recognized for best paper at the 2023 International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks.
“Mingzhe is a bright junior faculty member on a steep trajectory,” said Pratim Biswas, dean of the College of Engineering. “He is prolific in his scholarship, and his work in the digital tech Initiative in engineering is enabling and advancing centers such as the Miami Engineering Autonomous Mobility Initiative and others.”
Chen is the third IDSC core faculty member to be named a Knight Chair. He joins Yelena Yesha, the director of IDSC’s Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning program, as well as a professor of computer science, and David Chapman, who has joint appointments in IDSC and as an associate professor of computer science.
“Mingzhe has received three NSF awards for research including the use of machine learning and AI in next-generation wireless communications, putting the University and the Frost Institute for Data Science and Computing in the forefront of research in this area,” said Nick Tsinoremas, vice provost for research computing and data and founding director of IDSC.
NextG wireless
Chen’s research has primarily focused on developing 6G wireless networks to replace and augment the current 5G system. To do so, he’s been developing a replica of the way wireless networks work, a simulatorknown as a “digital twin” that allows Chen and his team to experiment with new approaches in a controlled, virtual setting.
That project received a major boost last year when Chen and his co-principal investigator won a three-yeargrant from the NSF to build a next-generation (NextG) digital twin enabled wireless network. But with so many factors affecting how a wireless network operates—high numbers of users flooding the system, software malfunctions, hardware problems—creating those digital twins will take years.
The work blends machine learning, communication theory, and distributed optimization to replicate crowded, complicated, ever-changing wireless networks. The work is so ambitious that one of Chen’s students is focused solely on minimizing the differences between the real-world networks and the digital network twins.
Expanding performance
As they build and expand their digital twin, they’ve been able to start experimenting with novel solutions to breakdowns in the network. For example, Chen’s team is testing whether unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, carrying equipment to extend wireless signals can help cover gaps in a wireless network. In theory, these could help boost people’s ability to connect their devices to the internet during very busy sporting events or in the aftermath of natural disasters when wireless infrastructure has been destroyed.
“We don’t know at which locations these UAVs should be deployed, so we can try to put them over the twin network first,” he said. “We use simulations and software to see whether we can get good performance. After that, we can deploy them over the actual network.”
Removing barriers to location apps
Chen is also experimenting with a new concept that could replace the GPS system we use each day on our phones and in our cars. GPS has been instrumental in the day-to-day lives of humans for decades now, but Chen said anybody who’s lost their signal while looking for directions in a crowded downtown understands it has its limitations.
GPS technology is entirely dependent on a user’s connection to a satellite; therefore, the signal takes longer to transmit and can be obstructed by mountains, skyscrapers, and a variety of other obstacles, Chen said. That’s why he’s trying to use wireless, ground-based technology that can more closely track a user’s location. Since the wireless signal is coming from a base station closer to the user, the speed will increase. And since wireless signals can pass through physical barriers like cars and walls, it can be more reliable.
Chen is even experimenting with the idea of using the cameras installed on our phones and vehicles to help pinpoint the users’ exact location.
“This topic is very hot,” he said. “We try to find a way to combine this data together and do a quick and accurate position.”
New lab dives in
To tackle all those research projects, Chen opened his own lab called the Wireless, Intelligent Network, and Security (WINs) Lab. It now includes four graduate research students, and Chen said their contributions have been invaluable to his work.
Together, they plan to continue developing their digital twins and exploring two emerging areas: quantum computing and semantic communications. IDSC has been trying to create a consortium to bring one of the first quantum computers to South Florida, which Chen will gladly take advantage of once it arrives.
Until then, he wants to dive into semantic communications. This is a new field that transmits data but also delivers the core idea behind that data. Chen gives the example of a sentence that includes the word “apple.” With semantic communications, the delivery system is capable of using the context around that word to understand it as the technology company, Apple, instead of the fruit.
“We want to care more about whether the receiver can receive the meaning of the data instead of accurately receiving the source data,” he said.
