Prof. Mingyan Liu elected Fellow of the IEEE

Prof. Mingyan Liu has been elected IEEE Fellow, Class of 2014, “for contributions to modeling of wireless ad-hoc and sensor networks.”

Prof. Liu’s research interests are in optimal resource allocation, performance modeling and analysis, and energy efficient design of wireless, mobile ad hoc, and sensor networks.

Her current research projects include:

The Profit Perspective in Secondary Spectrum Markets. Motivated by the possibility of new markets being restricted due to the unavailability of spectrum in the future, this project attempts to make better use of licensed spectrum, much of which remains underutilized. Prof. Liu believes her research will incentivize greater participation of wireless carriers in the secondary markets, enabling a quantum leap in more efficient spectrum utilization. Her group will use tools from game theory, optimization, graph theory and stochastic control in their research.

Wireless Monitoring of the Nation’s Infrastructure. Prof. Liu is involved in two multi-investigator research projects based at Michigan that are aimed at monitoring the nation’s infrastructure, including bridges, buildings and related construction. She is helping develop new theory and techniques for processing information received from wireless sensor networks placed on the nation’s infrastructure.

Sensing Soil Moisture. Prof. Liu is involved in a multi-institution project that introduces a new concept for a smart wireless sensor web technology for optimal measurements of surface-to-depth profiles of soil moisture using in-situ sensors. Soil moisture is used in all land surface models, all water and energy balance models, general circulation models, weather prediction models, and ecosystem process simulation models. The sensors have been set up at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Michigan and at New Hogan Lake and the Terra d’Oro vineyard in California.

Prof. Liu is active in the professional community, and currently serves as Associate Editor of the IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, and the ACM Transactions on Sensor Networks. She received an NSF CAREER Award, a University of Michigan Elizabeth C. Crosby Award, and an Outstanding Achievement Award from the EECS Department for her “outstanding contributions to teaching and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students, and for innovative research in wireless networks.” She has taught a wide array of undergraduate and graduate courses, primarily focused on communications and networks, as well as the undergraduate major design experience course, Digital Signal Processing.

About IEEE Fellows:

IEEE is the world’s largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. The IEEE Grade of Fellow is conferred by the IEEE Board of Directors upon a person with an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The total number selected in any one year cannot exceed one-tenth of one- percent of the total voting membership.