MSRI Workshop: Mathematics of Relaying and Cooperation in Communication Networks

April 10-12, 2006

Sponsors

With support from MSRI, NSF, and Intel.

Organizers:

Michael Gastpar
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
University of California, Berkeley

Gerhard Kramer
Mathematics of Communications Department
Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies

J. Nicholas Laneman
Department of Electrical Engineering
University of Notre Dame

Description:

Information theory bridges mathematics and communication systems analysis. The point-to-point communication problem is fairly well understood today: researchers have developed a refined set of tools for designing and optimizing codes and protocols. In stark contrast, the analysis of communication networks is still a wide open problem because of the complex nature of the interactions permitted by multi-terminal systems. Our lack of understanding is reflected by the fact that most state-of-the-art communication networks are planned using point-to-point principles, and network considerations enter only at a later stage of design.

Designing resource-efficient wireless networks requires a fundamental understanding of the mathematics underlying multi-terminal communication systems. One of the simplest such systems is a three-body problem, with a source, a destination, and a relay whose purpose is to assist the communication from the source to the destination. This seemingly simple communication problem has long resisted solution, but new insight has been gained recently.

This workshop aims at bringing together researchers from engineering, computer science, and mathematics to discuss recent advances and promising directions for future research. In particular, the workshop will emphasize:

LIST OF CONFIRMED PARTICIPANTS