printable versionStudent studies mobile Internet access
BY GEOFF KOCH
Jatinder Pal Singh
Volkmar Scharf-Katz
Jatinder Pal Singh wants to make it easy for you to receive those urgent work-related e-mails even when you're commuting. The 25-year-old electrical engineering graduate student, funded through a unique program of the Stanford Networking Research Center (SNRC), is exploring how to bring broadband wireless Internet access to passengers on high-speed trains in Europe.
The FMA program -- the acronym stands for Fellow/Mentor/Adviser -- links a student fellow, industry mentor and faculty adviser. It is one way for SNRC member companies to engage in Stanford research.
In Singh's case, that means getting advice on his doctoral research from German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom (DT). His mentor, Volkmar Scharf-Katz, is vice president and chief technology officer of DT subsidiary Detecon.
"Volkmar has an office in San Mateo and I am able to interact with him frequently," said Singh, who is studying congestion control in IP (Internet Protocol) networks, transport layer optimization for wireless networks and routing in mobile ad-hoc networks. "And we have regular conference calls with folks in Germany."
Since SNRC's inception, 15 companies have sponsored more than 20 students through the FMA program. It's a win-win arrangement, according to Singh's faculty adviser, Nick Bambos, professor of management science and engineering and of electrical engineering.
In addition to financial support, students get insight into some of the most challenging networking problems facing industry today.
"And the companies get access to a top-tier crop of students -- pre-tested and pre-approved," jokes Bambos.
Singh, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, says his research with DT is focused on a project in Germany. But there is no reason the same technology can't eventually be implemented in the United States -- a fact that may cause some BART and Caltrain commuters to cringe. Then again, you could always use the time riding the rails with real-time Internet access to plan your next vacation.