Nortel today announced
it is co-sponsoring a Research Chair at the University of Waterloo
focused on technologies that will help shape the future of wireless
networks. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
Canada (NSERC)-Nortel Chair in Advanced Telecommunications Technologies
was established today at a ceremony with Mike Zafirovski, President
and CEO, Nortel; Colin Carrie, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister
of Industry; Nigel Lloyd, Executive Vice-President, NSERC; and David
Johnston, President, University of Waterloo.
Dr. Amir Khandani, Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering,
University of Waterloo, was appointed Senior Chair. Dr. Khandani is
well-known in the industry for his research in communication systems
design. He is the author or co-author of more than 200 refereed articles
and several high impact patents, including a patent on symbol-based
Turbo-codes, a technique that is incorporated in multiple telecommunication
standards. Another notable contribution is the Shell Mapping algorithm
that
is widely used in commercial wire-line modems. Dr. Khandani currently
holds
a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Wireless Systems from the Federal
Government.
The research program will focus on third (3G) and fourth (4G) generation
broadband wireless technologies, leveraging Nortel's wireless innovation
leadership, the University of Waterloo's reputation as one of the
world's top technology research centres and NSERC's proven track record
of supporting Canadian university research in science and engineering.
Currently deployed by major service providers around the world, 3G
represents an important technical milestone for wireless communications
because it extends cellular services beyond voice and text. 3G networks
will make possible such services as mobile telehealth, instant Internet
applications, new online financial and shopping capabilities, as well
as entertainment services that include rapid music downloads, live
sports, and mobile gaming. 4G will take wireless technology even further,
achieving speeds comparable to wireline broadband and allowing for
such sophisticated uses as wireless sensors to monitor and manage
everything from traffic stress on a bridge, to air pollutants, to
personalized environment settings in the home.
"Moving to 3G and beyond requires a significant increase in speed
and bandwidth capabilities for wireless networks. Each step forward
requires large technical jumps to push technologies past their existing
limitations," said Zafirovski. "As one of Canada's leading
innovators, Nortel understands the value of university research partnerships
in bringing together the best and brightest to create new technologies
that not only greatly improve communications, but that are also commercially
viable."
The NSERC-Nortel Chair is one example of how Nortel is working with
government and academia to drive innovation in Canada by helping to
turn academic research into successful, commercial products and services.
The program is also intended to provide the necessary support to increase
the number of graduate students in advanced telecommunications research
at the
University and to train future leaders of the telecom industry.
"Nortel and the University of Waterloo have partnered since the
university's very beginning almost a half century ago to strengthen
Nortel's ties to leading university research, to promote advanced
communication research in Canada and to meet the country's need for
high-technology graduates," said Johnston. "The NSERC-Nortel
Chair strengthens this relationship and will provide a strong talent
pool of future leaders for the wireless industry in Canada."
Nortel has a long and successful history of partnering with academic
institutions. The Company has investments in approximately 50 technology
innovation initiatives with more than 20 major universities around
the world to help ensure it is solidly positioned to meet customers'
needs now and into the future.
