Meet Baylor’s nationally recognized expert in cellular communications

Anyone who uses a cell phone relies on the spectrum for communication. Dr. Charles Baylis, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Baylor, calls the spectrum the “real estate” of wireless transmission.

“When I send or receive a phone call, I have to use some type of bandwidth on the spectrum to transmit. It’s the same for anyone,” says Baylis, who has taught engineering at Baylor since 2008. “Now, when you factor in the exponential increase in the number of wireless devices, you can imagine that the spectrum has become crowded to the point that there’s really no spectrum left.”

Overcrowding is one of the many challenges that present opportunities for experts like Baylis, who has established himself as a nationally sought-after researcher in the field. Leading organizations like the National Science Foundation have supported his work, and more recently, it’s been the United States government coming to him and his team.

Last year, Baylor launched the Spectrum Management with Adaptive and Reconfigurable Technology Hub (SMART Hub), a Department of Defense innovation center where Baylis and his collaborators now conduct research to benefit both U.S. defense efforts and the population at large. A $5 million Congressional appropriation made SMART Hub possible, and Baylis quickly got to work on a critical series of tasks.

Military and corporate organizations alike recognize that dwindling space will soon impact users. Reliable wireless communication is of critical importance to the Department of Defense in both peacetime and war, and the military must be able to adapt and work around interference. These needs have led researchers to pursue entirely new approaches to spectrum communication, the focus of SMART Hub.

“We will be working on groundbreaking technology that will revolutionize how we use the spectrum,” Baylis says. “Rather than fixed systems that use the same frequency and stay there, we’re designing systems that can adapt to their surroundings and determine how to successfully transmit and receive. It’s a true paradigm shift that requires the type of collaboration we will have in SMART Hub.”

In the years ahead, the methods of wireless communication available to the military, as well as others, could look dramatically different thanks to Baylis’ work taking place at Baylor.

Sic ’em, Dr. Baylis!