David W. Matolak, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of South Carolina, has been elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for his contributions to wireless channel modeling and applications. His advances in channel models have contributed to the success of communication systems for terrestrial vehicle-to-vehicle communication, public safety communication, and improved aviation air-ground radio design, development and deployment.
“I’m pleased to be recognized by my peers,” Matolak said. “This election led me to think more about the work I have done throughout my career. To see the impact it is having and to have that impact recognized by others in the field shows that this work was worth the effort.”
Matolak has conducted research in the field of wireless communication for more than 15 years, using combinations of mathematical analyses, computer simulations and extensive measurements.
Since wireless channels can be the most severe impediment to reliable communication, the development of concise and accurate wireless channel models is a prerequisite for all modern digital communication system design. He has investigated and developed models for channels from the VHF band, through UHF, SHF, and the millimeter wave bands, spanning more than four orders of magnitude in frequency, from 3 MHz to 90 GHz, representing a vast range of physical channel characteristics.
His work in terrestrial channel settings has application for communication system designs of indoor offices, concert halls, laboratory environments, outdoor campus areas, forests, airport surface areas, parking garages, and atypical locations such as elevator shafts and stairwells. He has also investigated intra-vehicle channels for cars, buses, and aircraft; peer-to-peer pedestrian urban channels; and “micro” wireless channels for use within integrated circuits for so-called wireless networks on chips. His current work with NASA is supporting growth in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by advancing the modeling of air-ground channels.
Matolak joined the Department of Electrical Engineering in 2012 and is a 2019 recipient of the University of South Carolina’s “Breakthrough Leadership in Research” award. In UofSC’s Electrical Engineering Department, there are 217 undergraduate and 54 graduate students. The department’s research areas are focused on communications and electromagnetics, decision and control, electronic materials and devices, and power and energy systems.
IEEE is the world’s leading professional association for advancing technology for humanity. Through its 400,000-plus members in 160 countries, the association is a leading authority on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. IEEE Fellow is the highest grade of membership and is recognized by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement.
Dedicated to the advancement of technology, IEEE publishes 30 percent of the world’s literature in the electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields and has developed more than 1,300 active industry standards. The association also sponsors or co-sponsors nearly 1,700 international technical conferences each year.