Anniversary Celebration
40 YAW
Celebrating 40 Years of Actions on
Mobile and Wireless Communications
Lisbon, Portugal
2024-Jan-22
Programme
(Regarding the logistics aspects of the workshop, please visit the page on the organisation of the INTERACT meeting, https://interactca20120.org/meetings/7th-management-committee-technical-meeting)
09h00 / 10h30 – Opening Session
Chair: Laurent Clavier (Prof. @ IMT Lille, France & Chair COST CA20120 INTERACT)
Salvatore Grimaldi (Prof. @ Univ. Tuscia – Viterbo, Italy & President COST Association, Belgium ), Opening (details below) (Remote)
Luis M. Correia (Prof. @ IST / Univ. Lisbon, Portugal & Chair COST 259 and 273), A Brief History of Actions on Mobile and Wireless Communications (details below)
Wim Kotterman (Researcher @ Tech. Univ. Ilmenau, Germany), Memories since COST 207 (details below)
10h30 / 11h00 – Coffee Break
11h00 / 12h30 – Keynotes
Chair: Claude Oestges (Prof. @ Univ. catholique Louvain, Belgium & Chair COST CA15104 IRACON)
Thomas Kürner (Prof. @ Tech. Univ. Braunschweig, Germany) Propagation and Channel Modelling – Impact by 40 years of COST Actions (details below)
Andreas F. Molisch (Prof. @ Univ. Southern California, USA), Components for Beyond-5G Physical and Network Layers (details below) (Remote)
12h30 / 14h00 – Lunch Break
14h00 / 15h30 – Panel “Strengthening the telecommunications R&D sector”
Chair/Moderator: Anusha Panjwani (Head of Science Department @ COST Association, Belgium)
COST enables since 1971 the cooperation of researchers and innovators across Europe and beyond. COST Action 207 and others helped bringing Europe into the driving seat of mobile and wireless communication. This panel will explore what led to this success, but more importantly, what would be needed by the science, technology, policy and regulatory communities to make impact in the future.
Peter Stuckmann (Head of Unit @ European Commission, Belgium)
Rui Munhá (Scientific Officer @ FCT, Portugal & Portugal Representative @ COST Committee of Senior Officials, Belgium)
Roberto Verdone (Prof. @ Univ. Bologna, Italy & Chair COST 2100)
Tatiana Kováčiková (Member @ COST Scientific Committee, Belgium & Prof. @ Univ. Zilina, Slovakia)
Ralph Stübner (Science Officer @ COST Association, Belgium)
15h30 / 16h00 – Coffee Break
16h00 / 17h30 – Panel “COST: Connecting Generations in Mobile Radio Communications – Shaping Future Research and Interdisciplinary Perspectives”
Chair/Moderator: Narcis Cardona (Prof. @ Univ. Polytech. Valencia, Spain & Chair COST IC1004)
The COST framework has been a driving force in propelling mobile radio communications research forward. This panel discussion is dedicated to delving into how COST Actions have promoted interdisciplinary collaboration and served as a beacon for future technologies, research visions, and technical innovation. Throughout its history, COST has embraced a bottom-up approach to foster in-depth technical discussions on fresh research topics. Its open-door policy has welcomed institutions from many countries, uniting diverse perspectives and talents. COST has championed the principles of inclusivity, ensuring that every voice is heard and valued, thus, setting a high standard for other research initiatives to follow. In this panel discussion, we bring together the wisdom of seasoned experts and the fresh perspectives of emerging researchers to share their insights on future technologies and research visions. Together, we will explore the enduring impact of COST and how it continues to empower technical innovation, ignite the spirit of future technologies, and steer research visions in this ever-evolving field, all within the inimitable framework of its bottom-up approach.
Margot Deruyck (Prof. @ Univ. Ghent, Belgium)
Per Lehne (Senior Researcher @ Telenor, Norway)
Sławomir J. Ambroziak (Prof. @ Gdansk Univ. Tech., Poland)
Gordana Gardašević (Prof. @ Univ. Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Alister Burr (Prof. @ Univ. York, United Kingdom)
Keynotes
Opening
Salvatore Grimaldi, Prof., President COST Association, Belgium
Bio
Salvatore Grimaldi is a Professor of hydrology at the Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy, Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-food and Forest systems (DIBAF) and adjunct faculty at the New York University, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York, USA. He graduated in hydraulic civil engineering at Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy, where, in 2001, he also got a Ph.D. in hydrology for engineering, followed by a post-Doc at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA. He is the Director of the MecHydroLab ‘Mechanical Engineering for Hydrology and Water Science’, a multidisciplinary laboratory for environmental monitoring. His research activities focus on statistical hydrology, GIS terrain analysis, surface hydrology, new technologies for hydrological observations, citizen science in hydrology, and nature-based solution for erosion mitigation. He is the author of more than 100 publications with 7000 citations and H-index=44. He was elected in 2023 as President of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) for the period 2025-2029. He has also served as a reviewer for more than 120 Journals (i.e., Nature, Nature Climate Change, Scientific Reports, and Science Advances) and for a variety of research institutions. He served as COST Scientific Committee member (2021-2023) and as a COST Action Review Panel Member Expert (2015-2019). He was appointed President of COST in July 2023.
A Brief History of Actions on Mobile and Wireless Communications
Luis M. Correia, Prof., U. Lisbon, Portugal
Bio
Luis M. Correia was born in Portugal, in 1958. He received the Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from IST (Univ. Lisbon) in 1991, where he is currently a Professor in Telecommunications, with his work focused on Wireless & Mobile Communications, with the research activities developed in the INESC-ID institute. He has acted as a consultant for the Portuguese telecommunications operators and regulator, besides other public and private entities, and has been in the Board of Directors of a telecommunications company. He has participated in 33 projects within European frameworks (including COST Actions since 231), having coordinated 6 (namely COSTs 259 and 273) and taken leadership responsibilities at various levels in many others, besides national ones. He has lectured 76 advanced training courses for industry and academia at the national and international levels. He has supervised over 230 M.Sc./Ph.D. students, having edited 6 books, contribute to European strategic documents, and authored over 550 papers in international and national journals and conferences, for which served also as a reviewer, editor and board member. Internationally, he was part of 43 Ph.D. juries, and over 80 research projects and institutions evaluation committees for funding agencies in 12 countries, and the European Commission and COST. He has been the Chairman of Conference, of the Technical Programme Committee and of the Steering Committee of 25 major conferences, besides other several duties. He was a National Delegate to the COST Domain Committee on ICT. He has launched and served as Chairman of the IEEE Communications Society Portugal Chapter, besides being involved in several other duties in this society at the global level. He is an Honorary Professor of the Gdańsk University of Technology (Poland) and a recipient of the 2021 EurAAP Propagation Award “for leadership in the field of propagation for wireless and mobile communications”.
Memories since COST 207
Wim Kotterman, Researcher, TU Ilmenau, Germany
Bio
Wim Kotterman received his Engineering Degree in Physics from Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark, in 1984 and 2004, respectively. After a short stay in acoustic engineering, he joined Dr. Neher Labs of PTT of the Netherlands in 1987, performing mobile radio channel measurements and modelling, mainly for planning GSM radio networks. In 2000, he switched to Aalborg University, Denmark. His research topics in Aalborg were channel sounding and modelling applicable to small multi-antenna mobile radio handsets. From 2004 onwards, he is with Technical University Ilmenau, Ilmenau, Germany, at the Institute of Information Technology. Over the years, his research topics ranged from mobile radio channel measurements and modelling, Over-the-Air testing in Virtual Electromagnetic Environments, Synthesis/Emulation of arbitrary EM wavefields, to EM-scattering by vehicles. Wim Kotterman has been participating in the COST Actions 207, 231, 259, 273, 2100, IC1004, and CA15104 IRACON. In the latter two Actions, he served as a co-chair for sub working groups on Over-the-Air testing. At present, he is active in COST CA20120 INTERACT.
Propagation and Channel Modelling – Impact by 40 years of COST Actions
Thomas Kürner, Prof., TU Braunschweig, Germany
Abstract
Starting with COST 207 and its impact on standardizing GSM, the series of a total of 8 COST actions on Mobile and Wireless Communications have continuously accompanied and influenced the development of wireless systems until today. The speaker has participated in all actions since 1991 focussing on propagation aspects. The lecture will consist of a review on channel modelling and propagation activities focussing and their impact and application from 2G to 5G wireless systems. Famous examples for the sustainable output of the early COST actions are the COST 207 channel model, the COST 231-Hata Model and the COST 231 Walfisch-Ikegami Model which are still in widespread use. The COST 259 spatial channel model, COST 273 MIMO model and the COST 2100 channel model including its updates in COST IC1004 have paved the way for the success of multi-antenna systems. Among the more recent results is the COST IRACON Geometry-Based Stochastic Channel Model for V2V Communications in Intersections. COST IRACON has also led foundations towards channel models taking into account Massive MIMO, millimeter wave and THz communications. A key ingredient of the success story of all these results is the exchange of information, models and measured data among participating institutes, which have catalysed the development of novel propagation and channel models in Europe. The lecture will also provide examples on the successful sharing of research data among the COST participants.
Bio
Thomas Kürner (Fellow IEEE) received his Dipl.-Ing. degree in Electrical Engineering in 1990, and his Dr.-Ing. degree in 1993, both from University of Karlsruhe (Germany). From 1990 to 1994 he was with the Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik und Elektronik (IHE) at the University of Karlsruhe working on wave propagation modelling, radio channel characterization and radio network planning. From 1994 to 2003, he was with the radio network planning department at the headquarters of the cellular operator E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH & Co KG, Düsseldorf, where he was team manager radio network planning support responsible for radio network planning tools, algorithms, processes and parameters from 1999 to 2003. Since 2003 he is Full University Professor for Mobile Radio Systems at the Technische Universität Braunschweig. He was participating in many COST Actions on Wireless and Mobile Communications since 1991. In COST 259 he was chairing WG 3 Networks Aspects. In 2012 he was a guest lecturer at Dublin City University within the Telecommunications Graduate Initiative in Ireland. Currently he is chairing the IEEE 802.15 Standing Committee THz and the ETSI Industrial Specification Group THz. He was also the chair of IEEE 802.15.3d TG 100G, which developed the worldwide first wireless communications standard operating at 300 GHz. He was the project coordinator of the H2020-EU-Japan project ThoR (“TeraHertz end-to-end wireless systems supporting ultra-high data Rate applications”) and is Coordinator of the German DFG-Research Unit FOR 2863 Meteracom (“Metrology for THz Communications”). In 2019 and 2022 he received the Neal-Shephard Award of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society (VTS) and also in 2022 the Best Teacher Award of the European School on Antennas and Propagation (ESoA).
Components for Beyond-5G physical and network layers
Andreas F. Molisch, Prof., University of Southern California, USA
Abstract
While network operators are in the middle of deployment of 5G, and the benefits and challenges are coming into focus, research has already started on what will ultimately become Beyond 5G (6G and above) wireless – not just in the cellular world, but also local area networks, personal area networks, and internet of things. This talk will give a broad overview of the topics that (in my view) have a good chance of impacting B5G, ranging from physical layer techniques, to networking. For the PHY, the talk will touch upon new modulation formats such as OTFS, multi-stream multiplexing including massive MIMO, cell-free distributed massive MIMO, and orbital angular momenta, to the specific challenges and opportunities of sub-Terahertz communications. For the networking side, a discussion about the convergence of communication, computation, and caching, which generalizes mobile edge computing, will be discussed. A discussion of emerging applications that can make use of all these innovations will conclude the talk.
Bio
Andy Molisch received his degrees (Dipl.Ing. 1990, PhD 1994, Habilitation 1999) from the Technical University Vienna, Austria. He spent the next 10 years in industry, at FTW, AT&T (Bell) Laboratories, and Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs (where he rose to Chief Wireless Standards Architect). From 1994 to 2008, he was strongly involved in COST (231, 259, 273), including as Chair of the Channel modelling group. In 2009 he joined the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, CA, as Professor, and founded the Wireless Devices and Systems (WiDeS) group. In 2017, he was appointed to the Solomon Golomb – Andrew and Erna Viterbi Chair. His research interests revolve around wireless propagation channels, wireless systems design, and their interaction. He has published 5 books, 300 journal papers, and 400 conference papers. He is also the inventor of 70 patents, and co-author of some 70 standards contributions. His work has been cited more than 67,000 times, his h-index is 109, and he is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, Fellow of the AAAS, Fellow of the IEEE, Fellow of the IET, an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer, and a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He has received numerous awards, among them the IET Achievement Medal, the Technical Achievement Awards of IEEE Vehicular Technology Society (Evans Avant-Garde Award), the IEEE Communications Society (Edwin Howard Armstrong Award), and the Technical Field Award of the IEEE for Communications, the Eric Sumner Award.