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ANNUAL RESEARCH DAY 2021 Virtual celebrations showcase groundbreaking FEAS research Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science Research Report
Every year, the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Memorial University hosts a Research Day which encourages
The RIS acts as an intelligent mirror, improving signal quality and connectivity. RISs have other unique features, such as providing relatively high energy efficiency, and they are easy to deploy in diverse environments at a low cost, allowing integration into different application scenarios.
collaboration with like-minded researchers in other disciplines
Ms. Faisal is concentrating on optimizing the reflection
and explores research funding opportunities. Despite continued
coefficients of the RIS using deep reinforcement learning (DRL)
COVID-19 restrictions on staff and students, the 2021 Research
to improve the communication system performance. DRL has
Week was a resounding success with the Annual Research Day
emerged as a powerful approach to optimize the RIS phase shifts
videos receiving more than 1500 views within the first month.
in wireless communication systems. It allows building efficient
For many engineering students, the highlight of Research Week is the contest that determines who can best describe their research in three minutes. In pre-COVID days, research posters were displayed in the corridors of the engineering building with students and professors mingling with members of the public
algorithm designs by learning, interacting, and observing rewards from the communication environment, thus, finding solutions to complex optimization problems. “Winning this contest makes me feel grateful to contribute to science and wireless communications. I would like to thank my
to learn about novel student research. Since last year, the
supervisors, Dr. Octavia Dobre and Dr. Telex Ngatched, as well
Engineering Research Office has pivoted to online video
as my mentor, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Nahhal, for their continuous
presentations. This has proven to be one of the best things to
support and efforts to develop this work.”
come out of the pandemic because student research can now be viewed by anyone anywhere in the world at any time
Tom Browne Second place went to Tom Browne, Ph.D. candidate in Ocean and Naval
VIDEO CONTEST WINNERS
Architectural Engineering, who presented a method
Alice Faisal
for evaluating operational costs incurred while
This year, master’s student Alice Faisal won the contest with her video entitled Deep Reinforcement Learning for Optimizing RIS-Assisted HD-FD Wireless Systems.
operating under Arctic maritime regulations. His research compared optimal routes for a ship operating under two different regulatory guidelines - AIRSS and POLARIS - while navigating the Northwest Passage between Lancaster Sound and Tuktoyaktuk. “My research is focused on managing safe and efficient Arctic shipping operations,” he said. “Ships operating in the Arctic
Research Week
https://youtu.be/MVHdc0GC9xE In the video, Ms. Faisal explained her research which involves a wireless system capable of handling the demands of future wireless communications systems. Once the Internet-of-things (IoT) becomes commonplace, 5G networks and whatever comes after, will be expected to connect sensors, tablets and cameras in a continuous network. “My research focuses on optimizing the Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) technology using deep learning. The recent advent of RISs helps smart radio environments help overcome large power consumption and the probabilistic nature of electromagnetic (EM) wave transmission,” said Ms. Faisal.
pose several different risks. I am investigating ways in which scientific evidence can be used to better manage risk, while also enabling efficient and economic shipping operations. Safe Arctic ship operations protect the ship and those on board, the environment, Arctic communities, and other Arctic stakeholders.” Mr. Browne enjoyed the challenge of describing this technical research in three minutes. “Being acknowledged in this contest encourages me to continue developing strong research communication skills,” he said, adding he received many congratulations from his colleagues. https://youtu.be/gcwocmwmWLw
