Coding and Signal Transmission (CST) Laboratory

Our research involves physical and MAC layers of tele-communications systems, Information Theory and Signal Processing, with primary focus on wireless and optical transmission. Our mission is to understand the basics, further develop the theory in targeted areas, and apply it to the practice of commutations systems. Although most of our publications are in theoretical journals, the primary motivation for the research has been in majority of cases rooted in practice, and in some cases we have even taken the concepts to hardware implementation. Research has been funded by companies like Bell, Ciena, Nortel Networks, and RIM matched with various government funds from NSERC (IRC, CFI, STG, etc) and Ontario Research Funds (ITRC, CITO, OCE, ORF-RE/ORF-RI). Some of the research introduced in our group include Interference Alignment, two-way wireless, Media-based wireless and Unconditional Security (i.e., perfect security) by introducing the concept of Wireless Entanglement. Media-based wireless is based on embedding messages in the wireless channel rather that the conventional methods where the information is embedded in the source and then transmitted through the channel. This offers huge gains at a smaller complexity as compared to Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna systems. For example, a 1xK media-based wireless offers tens of dBs of gain compared even to a KxK legacy MIMO. Wireless Entanglement Security (WES) uses the characteristics of the wireless channel in a two-way link to establish a shared private key between legitimate parties. WES is the only known practical method for unconditional (perfect) security. Interference Alignment introduced by our group in 2006 has turned into a widely pursued topic in industry and academia world-wide, and our more recent results on two-way wireless, Media-based wireless and Wireless Entanglement Security are expected to shape the future of wireless. For more details on these recent works, please see: Recent Results.

Amir Khandani is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He holds a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Wireless Communications, and prior to that, he held a Tier I Canada Research Chair on Information Theory. He additionally holds the Senior Ciena-NSERC Industrial Research Chair on Network Information Theory of Optical Channels, prior to that, he held a Senior NSERC Industrial Research Chair jointly funded by Blackberry/NSERC, and prior to it, a Senior NSERC Industrial Research Chair jointly funded by Nortel/NSERC. Dr. Khandani’s research involves physical and media-access control (MAC) layers of telecommunications systems, information theory and signal processing, with primary focus on wireless and optical transmission. His goal is to understand the basics, further develop the theory in targeted areas, and apply it to the practice of commutations systems. Dr. Khandani received his degrees from Tehran University, Iran, and McGill University, Canada, in 1984 and 1992, respectively. He joined uWaterloo in 1993. Since 1993, he has supervised more than 45 PhD students, 35 master's students, 35 post-doctoral fellows and 20 research engineers. His former team members have successful careers in industry and academia across the globe. He has frequently served on technical program committees of major conferences in the area of wireless communication, and has acted as a consultant to various industrial and government agencies, delivering lectures and keynote speeches worldwide.