The past decades have witnessed tremendous advances in wireless communications and networks, leading to a plethora of wireless devices, systems, infrastructures, and services. Wireless access has become indispensable in our society for water and power supplies. The wide use of wireless devices, such as smartphones, has not only greatly increased the volume but also changed the composition of wireless data, from voice to multimedia. Consequently, there has been a compelling need for new wireless technologies to enable high capacity, low delay, Quality of Service (QoS)/Quality of Experience (QoE) aware future generations of wireless systems. On the other hand, the ubiquitous wireless infrastructure and mobile computing devices also provide the basis for great innovations in wireless services and applications.
Since its inception in 2001, the Wireless Engineering Research and Education Center has been dedicated to address the challenges in wireless engineering and has contributed to advancing wireless systems and applications. The center's faculty consists of faculty members from the departments of electrical and computer engineering, computer science and software engineering, and mathematics and statistics, with a rich research program ranging from RFIC and low power IC design, wireless systems and networks, and wireless security and privacy, to RF sensing, wireless multimedia, and robotic applications. The center's research can be roughly categorized into the following five areas:
- Wireless Device, IC Design and Testing;
- Wireless Communications and Networks;
- Wireless and cyber security and privacy;
- Wireless applications;
- Statistics and machine learning for wireless.
The center's research program has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and private industry. In addition to fundamental wireless research, our faculty work closely with the industry and defense agencies/contractors on industry-sponsored projects and technology transfer. The center has access to many state-of-the-art facilities, which are indispensable for successful completion of various wireless research projects. Please see the "research areas" and "affiliate labs" pages for more information.
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Recent Research News
Auburn Engineering faculty part of $4.8 million NSF project to bring AI-powered networks to disaster response
10/19/26 10:00 AM
Three Auburn Engineering researchers — Yin Sun, Shiwen Mao and David Roueche — are part of a $4.8 million national effort to help first responders access essential data when every second counts.
Faculty, staff recognized at Engineering Research Awards banquet
9/25/26 9:00 AM
The awards recognize outstanding contributions that exemplify innovation, collaboration and real-world impact.
Associate professor in ECE earns $300K NSF award to help intelligent systems learn better from one another
9/1/26 7:35 AM
Xiaowen Gong was recently awarded $300,000 by the National Science Foundation for his three-year study, “Federated Reinforcement Learning: From Heterogeneous Environments to Offline Data.”
Undergraduates experience research opportunities through pair of Auburn Engineering-led summer programs
7/29/26 3:45 PM
CPAC and ECE hosted 33 undergraduates from 12 universities, including Auburn, for a summer of research exploration, faculty mentorship and career exploration.
Auburn University Board of Trustees approves 77-acre Research Park expansion to accommodate future program growth
6/10/26 1:00 PM
Auburn University trustees approved a 77-acre expansion of The Park, supporting advanced manufacturing research, industry partnerships and future program growth.
Associate professor of electrical and computer engineering wins 2026 IEEE INFOCOM Test of Time Paper Award
3/17/26 8:35 AM
Yin Sun's research paper on keeping data fresh earns IEEE award