Maryan Rizinski
Lecturer, Computer Science
Project Manager, Bosch.IO
What is your area of research?
I performed research in the field of wireless communications. Modern wireless systems demand faster and more reliable services, so devices need to cooperate smartly instead of relying only on point-to-point links. Under the guidance of my advisor, Dr. Venceslav Kafedziski, I researched the main building block of cooperative transmission, the relay channel, in which the data transmission from a sender to a receiver is assisted by a relay. Different cooperative strategies exist depending on how the relay encodes information to help the sender send data to the receiver. My goal was to examine how such strategies improve the data rate and reliability when compared to point-to-point systems without cooperation, as well as how closely and under what conditions the results approach the theoretic upper bounds. It is an exciting research area because of its applications to next-generation communication systems such as 5G, and also because finding the Shannon capacity of the relay channel in the general case has been an unsolved problem for decades.
Please tell us about your industry job.
I work for Bosch.IO—a German multinational software company that designs, develops, and operates software systems and solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT). My current position involves management of software projects for the IoT industry. Our customers are typically interested in using our IoT platform to achieve specific use case scenarios and we work together with them to find out what type of customizations need to be done to our platform for this to happen. My responsibilities include analyzing requirements, defining project scope and timelines, monitoring progress and budget, analyzing risks, and ensuring that the delivered software meets the quality expectations. Project management requires understanding how the details fit into the big picture and having soft skills to combine them, so a good deal of my work is to communicate with stakeholders at all levels and to remove blockers to ensure smooth project execution.
How does the subject you work in apply in practice? What is its application?
IoT is one of the hottest areas in the IT industry right now. Many companies recognize the opportunities and new business models that can transform entire segments of the global economy. IoT opens up a myriad of promising applications, from smart homes and connected cars to agriculture and logistics to manufacturing and healthcare. According to Gartner, 25 billion “things” will be connected to the Internet by 2021—and by “things” we mean devices other than ordinary desktop computers, laptops, or smart phones.
The potential of IoT comes from the intelligent services that will be enabled on top of this device layer. For example, it becomes increasingly important for original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, in the automobile industry to remotely manage and update the vehicle software. When a critical software defect is discovered, an OEM may not have many options other than triggering an expensive recall of a large number of vehicles, sometimes even an entire production line. Without remote software management capabilities, known as over-the-air (OTA) updates, it can be extremely expensive to fix software defects, not to mention it is usually a lengthy process that may badly affect the OEM’s reputation. IoT with OTA can provide not only a robust and reliable solution for remote management of software updates for connected vehicles, but can also achieve significant cost savings.
What courses do you teach at MET?
I teach Business Data Communication and Networks (MET CS 625), originally designed and developed by Professor Lou Chitkushev. I work closely with faculty member Warren Mansur and throughout the years we have introduced many improvements to the content of this course. I also regularly facilitate Introduction to Probability and Statistics (MET CS 546). Both courses are part of the MS in Computer Information Systems core curriculum.
How do students benefit from the courses you teach?
One of the most valuable aspects of MET CS 625 is that the homework component is divided into “concepts assignments” and “lab assignments.” The concepts assignments help students learn the theoretical foundations of networking, while the lab assignments give an opportunity to acquire applied hands-on skills. After taking this course, students are able to work intelligently with modern networks and discuss networking with other professionals in the field. It is exciting when students reach out to say that the course is practical enough to be able to apply it in their current jobs.
MET CS 546 is essential because probability and statistics can be encountered at almost every corner in engineering and, in particular, in the world of IT. For this reason, we have recently developed 50 new application problems with Professor Anatoly Temkin, ranging from machine learning and spam filtering to medical tests and robotics to forensics and insurance, all of them illustrating how probability can be applied in real-world contexts. Students have reported that they like the content and find it valuable to understand how the course can be applied in the industry.
As a part-time faculty member, how do you combine the professional and the academic worlds?
It takes extra time and effort to combine the teaching duties with an industry job. However, when you love what you do, this is something that flows naturally. I am passionate about online education and I find it very rewarding to help students achieve their academic objectives. I am also very fortunate to work with amazing colleagues from the computer science department in a friendly and supportive environment.