Networks
Networks make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Social networks, computer networks, and transportation networks are all examples of networks that are deeply enmeshed into our lives. CISE investigates fundamental research questions in networks, such as network formation and evolution, and interaction between network agents (which may be selfish or malicious). The questions are addressed through advances in the fields of optimization, control, distributed algorithms, and game theory. The theoretical methods are complemented by experimental work, which include testing of IoT and 5G network systems, deployment of networks of autonomous agents (e.g., robots, drones, and connected vehicles), design of neural networks for deep learning, federation of cloud computing systems, and data-driven methods to detect and thwart malicious behavior on the Internet.
Efficiently Distributing Optimization Over Large-Scale Networks
This project will design new algorithms for distributed optimization which can work without any kind of central coordinator or processor server and whose asymptotic performance always improves in larger networks. The algorithms will run over communication networks based on peer-to-peer nearest neighbor with connectivity backbones that can vary with time. Our model will explicitly account […]
How Fitbits, Other Bluetooth Devices Make Us Vulnerable to Tracking
BU researchers found that a third-party algorithm can track the location of some Bluetooth devices In 2018, nearly 3.7 billion new Bluetooth-enabled devices shipped worldwide to consumers. From phones and speakers to thermostats and fridges, home appliances and personal devices including “wearables” are rapidly becoming more connected by Wi-Fi than ever before, creating what’s called […]
A Comprehensive Regional Framework for Sustainability
Many U.S. cities are simultaneously confronting two interrelated, but tragically siloed issues: environmental impact and access to affordable housing. Central to both is sound land use policy. Where people live, what people build, and what people keep or make green matters not just to a neighborhood, but to the nation. Cities have a responsibility to […]
III: Small: Distributed Semantic Information Processing Applied to Camera Sensor Networks
In many applications, sensor networks can be used to monitor large geographical regions. This typically produces large quantities of data that need to be associated, summarized and classified in order to arrive to a semantically meaningful descriptions of the phenomena being monitored. The long-term guiding vision of this project is a distributed network that can […]
CPS: Breakthrough: A Dynamic Optimization Framework for Connected Automated Vehicles in Urban Environments
Connected Automated Vehicles (CAVs), often referred to as “self-driving cars”, will have a profound impact not only on transportation systems, but also in terms of associated economic, environmental, and social effects. As with any such major transformative undertaking, quantifying the magnitude of its expected impact is essential. The first part of this project aims at […]
Broadening Participation in Teaching and Research in GENI: A Regional Workshop in May 2016
This project supports hosting a Global Environment for Network innovations (GENI) Regional Workshop (GRW) on May 23, 2016 at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. The intent of this GRW is to continue to broaden the GENI user community, introducing new educators and researchers in the northeastern US geographic region to GENI. Four GRWs in total […]
CNS:CSR Collaborative Research: Leveraging Intra-chip/Inter-chip Silicon-Photonic Networks for Designing Next-Generation Accelerators
A little over a decade ago, GPUs were fixed-function processors built around a pipeline, dedicated to rendering 3-D graphics. In the past decade, as the potential for GPUs to provide massive compute parallelism became apparent, the software community developed new programming environments (CUDA and OpenCL) to leverage these massively parallel devices. Today, the leading graphics […]
CRCNS: Dynamic network analysis of human seizures for therapeutic intervention
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological syndromes, affecting an estimated 3 million people in the United States. In one-third of these patients, seizures cannot be controlled despite maximal medication management. The complexity of the neuronal network dynamics that define the epileptogenic cortex and drive seizure initiation and spread makes understanding and treating epilepsy […]
CPS: Synergy: Collaborative Research: Efficient Traffic Management: A Formal Methods Approach
The objective of this project is to develop a formal methods approach to traffic management. Formal methods is an area of computer science that develops efficient techniques for proving the correct operation of systems, such as computer programs and digital circuits, and for designing systems that are correct by construction. This project extends this formalism […]
PFI:BIC A Smart-city Cloud-based Open Platform and Ecosystem (SCOPE)
This NSF Partnerships for Innovation: Building Innovation Capacity (PFI:BIC) project from Boston University will research, prototype, and evaluate novel “smart-city” services for the city of Boston and for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The centerpiece of the project is a Smart-city Cloud-based Open Platform and Ecosystem (SCOPE), which creates a multisided marketplace for smart-city services based […]