Khizar Anjum Awarded Prestigious Paul Panayotatos Scholarship for Sustainable Signal Processing Research

Khizar Anjum, PhD candidate at the CPS Lab, has been named the 2024 recipient of the prestigious Paul Panayotatos Scholarship in recognition of his groundbreaking research in sustainable signal processing for resource-constrained devices.

Khizar’s innovative research concentrates on developing pervasive signal processing solutions for small-scale, resource-constrained devices with a focus on sustainability. His pioneering work in hardware-software codesign has led to the development of novel analog architectures capable of implementing neural networks with extremely low power consumption, enabling real-time data analysis directly on compact devices. These architectures have significant applications in real-time battery-less EEG analysis, dramatically reducing dependency on frequent battery changes or cloud services.

A key innovation in Khizar’s research is his development of a two-tier wireless sensor network architecture for real-time data processing. This versatile framework has broad applications across multiple domains including:

  • Healthcare monitoring systems
  • Environmental monitoring networks
  • Drone-based crowd surveillance
  • Underwater exploration systems

In the challenging domain of underwater communications, Khizar has made remarkable contributions through his innovation in underwater image transmission. His approach utilizes deep Joint Source-Channel Coding (JSCC), which demonstrates exceptional resilience to bit errors and guarantees lossy but reliable reconstruction—a vital capability for underwater exploration missions in harsh acoustic environments.

Khizar’s work not only pushes the boundaries of signal processing technology but also champions a more sustainable, eco-friendly approach to technology development. His research exemplifies the CPS Lab’s commitment to developing innovative solutions that address real-world challenges while considering environmental impact.

The Paul Panayotatos Scholarship recognizes outstanding graduate students who demonstrate excellence in research and academic achievement, and Khizar’s selection for this honor highlights the significant impact of his contributions to the field of sustainable signal processing.