IEEE 2016 Test of Time Award for CS Researchers

 

More than a decade ago, Stony Brook University Department of Computer Science professor Tzi-cker Chiueh and his doctoral student Ashish Raniwala submitted a paper to the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM). The paper was titled “Architecture and Algorithms for an IEEE 802.11-Based Multi-Channel Wireless Mesh Network”.

Fast forward to 2016 and that paper has earned these researchers the coveted IEEE INFOCOM Test of Time Paper Award.

The IEEE INFOCOM Test of Time Paper Award recognizes papers published between 10 to 12 years ago that have been the most cited and widely recognized to have a significant impact on the research community. Chiueh and Raniwala’s paper has stood “the test of time” and continues to result in significant contributions to the field of wireless networking over a decade later.

Chiueh and Raniwala’s work on multichannel wifi mesh networks, the topic of the award-winning paper, is among the earliest of its type. The research, presented more than a decade ago, showed that intelligent channel assignment is critical to “Hyacinth” or multi-channel wireless mesh network architecture. The performance of distributed algorithms that utilize only local traffic load information to dynamically assign channels to route packets was compared with a centralized algorithm that performs the same functions. Through an extensive study, they proved that it is possible to improve the network throughput by a factor of 6 to 7 by simply adding one extra network card per router.

IEEE INFOCOM is one of the most prestigious conferences in the field of computer networking and it was held this year in San Francisco, CA. Because their research continues to have significant traction, Chiueh and Raniwala were selected for the 2016 Test of Time Award.

Professor Chiueh was a long time faculty member in the Department of Computer Science before he accepted a senior position at the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan. After receiving his doctoral degree under Professor Chiueh, Ashish Raniwala worked for seven years as a software engineer at Google before joining Microsoft in late 2013, where he still works today.

“Congratulations to the authors and to the department. This is a first-class, exceptional achievement”, said Professor Ellen Liu of the Department of Computer Science.