Agnelo R. Silva

  • Ph.D, Electrical Engineering, USC (CA, USA), August 2015.
  • M.S., Computer Engineering, UNL (NE, USA), 2010.
  • B.S., Computer Science (Magna Cum Laude), UFC (CE, Brazil), 2008.
Biography

Agnelo Rocha da Silva was born in São Paulo, SP (Brazil). B.S. degree in Computer Science from the Universidade Federal do Ceará, CE (Brazil), in 2008 (research: Mathematical logic). M.S. degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (USA) in 2010 (research: Wireless Underground Communication). Ph.D degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, in August 2015 (research: Wireless Undeground Sensor Networks and sub-MHz soil dielectric spectroscopy, advisor: Prof. Mahta Moghaddam).

His research is related to both sensing and wireless communication in lossy material (in particular, soil) at the sub-MHz range where both phenomena are tightly related. He has developed a novel sub-MHz soil dielectric model which is used to estimate the signal attenuation of buried devices that communicate based on Magnetic-Induction (MI). He is also working on the design of the first in-situ sub-MHz soil impedance spectrometer, a technology which has been traditionally impacted by the electrode polarization (EP) effects that typically occur at low frequencies and lossy material. To this end, he developed a novel methodology to identify the EP contribution in dielectric measurements with 2-electrode systems – an open 125-year old problem. These findings have good potential to be applied to the following applications: precise irrigation, communication under-the-debris for disaster scenarios, oil/gas pipeline leak detection systems, infrastructure monitoring (buildings, bridges, tunnels), and even remote medicine (low-cost diagnostics). He plans to extend these soil/lossy-material studies to the 1-100MHz band.

Doctorate dissertation title:

Theory and Design of Magnetic Induction-Based Wireless Underground Sensor Networks

 Research
  • Sub-MHz impedance spectroscopy & broadband soil dielectric models
  • Electrode Polarization (EP) mitigation in two-electrode systems
  • Applicability of the EP effects on Geosciences, Civil Engineering, and Medical Diagnosis
  • Magnetic-Induction (MI) applied to Wireless Underground Sensor Networks (WUSNs)
  • Cross-layer networking protocol in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs)
  • High-Availability (HA) techniques for unattended WSNs
  • Ultra-low power management in embedded systems
  • Software engineering for unattended embedded systems
  • Inteligent buildings:smart energy + disaster management
Summary of research achievements (2009-2015): download (pdf version)
 Honors
  • Best 2014 EE Research Pitch, 5th Annual Electrical Eng. Research Festival, Univ. Southern California, Nov 2014
  • CNPq GDE scholarship, CNPq (National Counsel Technological & Sci. Development), Brazil, Feb 2012-May2015
  • Best research article (ACM SIGMOBILE), Workshop on Mission-oriented WSN (MiSeNet’2012), NY, Jan 2013
  • Milton E. Mohr fellowship, University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering, NE, 2010-2011
  • Outstanding poster presentation at the 2nd Annual Water for Food Intl Conference (first place), NE, May 2010
  • Outstanding poster presentation at the UNL Research Fair 2009 (first place at STEM areas), NE, Apr 2009
  • Magna Cum Laude for the B.S. Computer Science degree, Federal University of Ceara (UFC), Brazil, Jan 2008
  • Contest-winning of the Intl Exchange Student Program at UNL sponsored by CAPES/FIPSE, NE, Aug-Dec 2007
  • Research scholarship, CNPq (National Counsel Technological & Sci. Development), Brazil, Apr 2004-Jun 2007
  • Award-winning Microsoft’s Best World Training Solutions’, course Strategic Implementation of Projects for IT Managers Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, Sep 2001
 Publications
 Master’s Thesis
  • Channel Characterization for Wireless Underground Sensor Networks,
    A. R. Silva, Computer Engineering Master’s Thesis – Computer Science and Engineering Department – University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA, 2010. [link]

Journals [5]

  • Design and Implementation of Low-Power and Mid-Range Magnetic Induction-Based Wireless Underground Sensor Networks,
    A. Silva and M. Moghaddam, in IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement  (in press, doi:10.1109/TIM.2015.2498918).
  • An Adaptive Energy-Management Framework for Sensor Nodes with Constrained Energy Scavenging Profiles,
    A. Silva, M. Liu, and M. Moghaddam, Intl Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks, vol. 2013, Article ID 272849, pp. 1-33, doi:10.1155/2013/272849, October 2013.
  • Ripple-2: a non-collaborative, asynchronous, and open architecture for highly-scalable and low duty-cycle WSNs,
    A. Silva, M. Liu, and M. Moghaddam, ACM Mobile Computing and Communications Review (Best Article in MiSeNet’2012), vol. 17, Number 1, pp. 55-60, doi:10.1145/2348656.2348668, January 2013. 
  • Power Management Techniques for Wireless Sensor Networks and Similar Low-Power Communication Devices Based on Non-Rechargeable Batteries,
    A. Silva, M. Liu, and M. Moghaddam, Journal Computer Networks and Communications, pp. 1-10, doi:10.1155/2012/757291, August 2012.
  • Development of a Testbed for Wireless Underground Sensor Networks,
    A. Silva and M. Vuran, in the special issue ‘Simulators and Experimental Testbeds Design and Development for Wireless Networks’ of the EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, doi:10.1155/2010/620307, 2010.  

Conferences [10]

  • Adaptive sub-MHz magnetic induction-based system for mid-range wireless communication in soil,
    A. Silva and M. Moghaddam, in Proc. IEEE-APS Topical Conf. on Antennas and Propagation in Wireless Communications (APWC’15), doi:10.1109/APWC.2015.7300222, Torino, Italy, September 2015.
  • Case Study on the Reliability of Unattended Outdoor Wireless Sensor Systems,
    A. Silva, M. Moghaddam, and M. Liu, in Proc. IEEE Systems Conference (SysCon’ 15), doi:10.1109/SYSCON.2015.7116846, Vancouver, Canada, April 2015.
  • Strategic Frequency Adaptation for Mid-Range Magnetic Induction-Based Wireless Underground Sensor Networks,
    A. Silva and M. Moghaddam, in Proc. IEEE Systems Conference (SysCon’ 15), doi:10.1109/SYSCON.2015.7116842, Vancouver, Canada, April 2015.
  • Operating Frequency Selection for Low-Power Magnetic Induction-Based Wireless Underground Sensor Networks,
    A. Silva and M. Moghaddam, in Proc. IEEE Sensors Applications Symposium (SAS’ 15), doi:10.1109/SAS.2015.7133600, Zadar, Croacia, April 2015.
  • WSN-SA: Design Foundations for Situational Awareness Systems Based on Sensor Networks,
    A. Silva, M. Liu, and M. Moghaddam, in Proc. IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC’ 13), doi:10.1109/GHTC.2013.6713677, San Jose, CA, October 2013.
  • Ripple-2: A Non-Collaborative, Asynchronous, and Open Arch. for Highly-Scalable and Low Duty-Cycle WSNs,
    A. Silva, M. Liu, and M. Moghaddam, in Proc. ACM Intl. Workshop on Mission-Oriented WSN (MiSeNet’ 12), doi:10.1145/2348656.2348668, Istanbul, Turkey, August 2012. 
  • (CPS)^2: Integration of Center Pivot Systems with Wireless Underground Sensor Networks for Autonomous Precision Agriculture,
    A. Silva and M. Vuran, in Proc. ACM/IEEE First Intl. Conference on Cyber-Physical Systems (ICCPS’ 10), doi:10.1145/1795194.1795206, Stockholm, Sweden, April 2010.
  • Communication with Aboveground Devices in Wireless Underground Sensor Networks: An Empirical Study,
    A. Silva and M. Vuran, in Proc. IEEE Intl. Conference on Communications (ICC’ 10), doi:10.1109/ICC.2010.5502315, Cape Town, South Africa, May 2010.
  • Empirical Evaluation of Wireless Underground-to-Underground Comm. in Wireless Underground Sensor Networks,
    A. Silva and M. Vuran, in Proc. IEEE Intl. Conference on Distributed Computing in Sensor Systems (DCOSS ’09), doi:10.1007/978-3-642-02085-8_17, Marina Del Rey, CA, June 2009.
  • Empirical Evaluation of Wireless Underground-to-Aboveground Communication,
    A. Silva and M. Vuran, in Poster Session IEEE Intl. Conference on Distributed Computing in Sensor Systems (DCOSS ’09), Marina Del Rey, CA, June 2009.

Book Chapters [4]

  • Emerging Technologies, Sensor Web,
    M. Moghaddam, A. Silva, M. Liu, in Encyclopedia of Remote Sensing, Edited by E. Njoku, Springer, doi:10.1007/978-0-387-36699-9_206, January 2013.
  • Design of Low Data-Rate Environmental Monitoring Applications,
    A. Silva, M. Moghaddam and M. Liu, in The Art of Wireless Sensor Networks, Edited by H. Ammari, Springer, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-40009-4_3, January 2014.
  • The Future of Wireless Underground Sensing Networks: from Theory to Practice,
    A. Silva, M. Moghaddam and M. Liu, , Vol.1, Edited by H. Ammari, Springer, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-40066-7, January 2014
  • Communication through Soil in Wireless Underground Sensor Networks – Theory and Practice,
    M. Vuran and A. Silva, in Sensor Networks: Where Theory Meets Practice, in Sensor Networks: Where Theory Meets Practice, Edited by G. Ferrari, Springer, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-01341-6_12, March 2010.

Books [1]

  • Ethernet and Token-Ring LANs: a Hardware Manual,
    A. Silva, Fundação Biblioteca Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1994.
  • Industrial Patents [2]
  • PC TDI (Unisys mainframe’s line interface) to RS-232 Conversion Card,
    Brazilian Patent Application, September 1989.

Teaching

  • UNL CSCE 496/896 Embedded Systems (Spring 2010)
  • UNL CSCE 496/896 Wireless Sensor Networks (Fall 2009)
  • UNL CSCE 496/896 Embedded Systems (Spring 2009)
  • UNL CSCE 251 Unix Programming (Spring09, Fall 2009)
  • UNL CSCE 496/896 Wireless Sensor Networks (Fall 2008)
  • Microsoft Certified Trainer: +1000h Information Technology lectures (Brazil, 1999-2005)

 Service

  • Reviewer, Computer Networks Journal (Elsevier), IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, Sensors Journal (MDPI Publishing), IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurements and other IEEE journals and conferences.
  • Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), IEEE Communication Society (IEEE ComSoc), IEEE Antennas and Propagation (IEEE APS), IEEE Instrumentation and Measurements (IEEE I&M).

“To know is not to be wise. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”
– Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)