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Before attending New York Law School this fall, Rob Czarnecki ’03 (Hamilton, N.J.) will present his research on eliminating noise in wireless transmissions July 14-16 at the IASTED Wireless and Optical Communications Conference in Banff, Alberta.
The nonprofit International Association of Science and Technology for Development (IASTED) was founded in Zurich, Switzerland in 1977. The organization promotes economic development through science and technology and has sponsored more than 300 conferences in 25 countries.
A senior electrical and computer engineering major, Czarnecki is working under the guidance of Ismail Jouny, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, to simulate a wireless communication system capable of transmitting audio, data, and video. He is using an adaptive antenna array at both the transmitter and receiver that helps reduce interference and noise and deals with imperfections in amplifiers and other electronics.
Jouny has published numerous articles in academic publications, many of them co-authored with Lafayette students. He has served as a summer faculty fellow at the U.S. Naval Air Base in Patuxent River, Md., and Naval Underwater Warfare Center in Newport, R.I. Jouny also has a U.S. patent pending, has served as a consultant in industry, and has been listed in Who’s Who in Science & Technology.
The project stemmed from Czarnecki’s desire to create more effective wireless Local Area Networks, which share data among several single-user workstations or personal computers.
“Last summer, I interned with Associated Data Processing Consultants,” he says. “I spent some time working with a city-wide Wireless Area Network integration to consolidate data flow, which prompted my decision to begin this research.
“The material I have been working with has really sparked my interest, and this experience has been valuable. It has taught me much about research and technical writing. These skills will be beneficial in the future.”
Jouny describes Czarnecki as a motivated, dedicated student and says he is learning a lot about communication systems.
“Rob is also discovering how research is done, the pain of things not going as expected, and the thrill of doing something successfully.”
Czarnecki explains that Jouny has played an integral role in helping him develop his thesis.
“Working with Dr. Jouny has been a wonderful experience,” he says. “He is genuinely interested in the material and has guided me through the entire process, from writing code in MATLAB to assisting me with the write up.”
A Marquis Scholar, Czarnecki co-chaired the 24th annual Dance Marathon to benefit the Spring Garden Children’s Center and the Children’s Home of Easton. He is also former president of Interfraternity Council, where he served as liaison beween fraternities and the larger campus community. He ran meetings of fraternity presidents, registered events with Lafayette administration, and helped organize bid day and rush.
During the January interim session between regular semesters, Czarnecki worked on EXCEL Scholars research with John Nestor, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. He helped write a Java program that shows how data flows through a file. In Lafayette’s EXCEL program, students work with faculty on research while earning a stipend.
“I love Lafayette,” says Czarnecki. “The professors and friends I’ve met during the last three years have played an integral role in shaping me into the person I am today. I don’t think I could have made a better decision of where to attend college.”