Keynote Speakers
The Untold Stories of Major Successes in the Wireless Industry –
All Spawned by NSF Research Infrastructure Funding
Ted Rappaport
New York University
Abstract
This keynote tells the little-known and behind-the scene stories of how NSF research infrastructure funding led to some of the most spectacular advances in the wireless industry. Based on the presenter’s own experiences and “front row seat” in the evolution of the industry, this talk demonstrates how NSF research infrastructure funding led to the creation of Wi-Fi, the early wireless communications curriculum taught around the world, the invention of the emergency E911 cellular position location, ubiquitous wireless site-specific network deployment and management systems used universally today, and the 5G global cellphone standard.
Bio
Theodore (Ted) S. Rappaport (tsr@nyu.edu) is the David Lee/Ernst Weber Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University (NYU), and is a professor in the NYU Courant Computer Science Dept. and the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He founded the NYU WIRELESS research center in 2012 and the wireless research centers at the University of Texas Austin (WNCG) and Virginia Tech (MPRG) earlier in his career. He has authored or co-authored widely used textbooks on wireless communications, millimeter wave communications, smart antennas, and simulation. He has provided fundamental knowledge for wireless system design and radio propagation channels used to create the IEEE 802.11Wi-Fi standard, the first U.S. digital TDMA and CDMA standards, the first public Wi-Fi hotspots, and has led the world to adopt millimeter wave and sub-Terahertz frequencies for 5G, 6G, and beyond. His work influenced the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to open up the world’s first mobile telephone spectrum in the millimeter wave bands in 2014-2016 as part of the FCC Spectrum Frontiers ruling, and he again led the FCC to open up spectrum in the sub-Terahertz bands above 95 GHz with the FCC Spectrum Horizons ruling in 2018-2019. He founded two businesses that were sold to publicly traded companies — TSR Technologies, Inc. which pioneered software defined radios for cellphone/paging over-the-air intercept and the first Emergency-911 (E911) cellphone position location system, and Wireless Valley Communications, Inc., a leader in site-specific wireless deployment, and was an advisor to Straight Path Communications which sold 5G millimeter wave spectrum to Verizon. He is a licensed Professional Engineer and is in the Wireless Hall of Fame, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Inventors, recipient of IEEE’s Eric Sumner Award, and a life member of the American Radio Relay League. His ham radio call sign is N9NB.
Building Durable, Resilient Cyberinfrastructure –
Lessons from Sage
Pete Beckman
Northwestern University
Abstract
Creating durable and resilient cyberinfrastructure remains a fundamental challenge. As one prominent computer scientist once noted: “Cyberinfrastructure dies for one of two reasons—either nobody uses it, or everyone uses it.” Beyond innovative ideas and a strong development team, timing plays a crucial role. If introduced too early, potential users may struggle to see its relevance—few researchers would have embraced an autonomous drone testbed before drones became widely accessible. Conversely, if launched too late, scientists may have already assembled ad-hoc solutions and moved on. The infrastructure’s core purpose is equally critical—should it prioritize stability or foster experimental exploration, even at the risk of temporary disruptions?
Sage is a national-scale cyberinfrastructure designed for AI-driven edge computing. With more than 100 nodes deployed across diverse environments—from Chicago’s urban streets to national parks—Sage enables students and scientists to develop and deploy AI applications in the field. By integrating sensors such as cameras, microphones, and LiDAR with AI-driven computation, researchers can build novel systems for tasks like wildfire detection, agricultural monitoring, bioacoustic analysis, and understanding urban dynamics.
However, developing Sage was a decade-long journey. It began with the 2015 “Array of Things” (AoT) MRI award, which provided an initial testbed for edge computing in real-world settings. Lessons from AoT informed the NSF MidScale-funded Sage project, which became the first national infrastructure for AI at the edge. Subsequent awards have expanded Sage’s capabilities and user community, positioning it as a foundation for the next generation of AI-driven scientific edge computing infrastructure.
This talk will explore key decisions, challenges, and lessons learned throughout Sage’s evolution—offering insights into what it takes to build sustainable, impactful cyberinfrastructure.
Bio
Pete Beckman is a professor at Northwestern University and explores and builds cyberinfrastructure for AI and edge computing. During the past 30 years, his research has focused on software and hardware architectures for large-scale parallel and distributed computing systems. While at Argonne National Laboratory, Pete focused on low-level resource management for exascale operating and runtime systems. At Northwestern University, Pete leads the Sage project, an infrastructure funded by the National Science Foundation to build a nationwide cyberinfrastructure for AI at the edge.