Prof Luiz DaSilva has been appointed head of the research centre CONNECT, following Linda Doyle’s promotion to Dean of Research in November.
DaSilva is the current Chair of Telecommunications in Trinity. Before coming to Trinity in 2009, he worked with IBM for six years and spent 17 years as a professor of computer and electronics in Virginia Tech, where he currently holds a research position.
In a press statement, DaSilva said: “I look forward to working closely with CONNECT’s talented team of researchers in our ten partner higher education institutes. The Centre has expanded rapidly over the past three years and I am excited about the opportunity to build on this success.”
His research is based on the development of wireless networks. In particular, it focuses on distributed and adaptive resource management in wireless networks and more specifically cognitive radio networks.
In January 2017, his research group was awarded €560,000 in funding to research 5G technology, with a focus on providing faster internet speeds to Irish homes. As a researcher, he’s attracted €3 million in funding from the EU.
His various research projects involve both academic and industry partners from across Europe, Brazil, the US and China. DaSilva has worked with industry partners including Intel, Microsoft Research, the Defense Advanced Research Project agency and the Office of Naval Research.
In a press statement, Provost Patrick Prendergast said: “We extend our congratulations to Professor DaSilva as the new Director of CONNECT. He is widely recognised as a world leader in the field of telecommunications research, which is one of Trinity’s strategic research themes.”
Prendergast also paid tribute to the work of Doyle.
In a press statement, the Director General of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Mark Ferguson, said: “His outstanding academic record and existing relationships with industry partners are evidence that he is well placed to build on the Centre’s success and Ireland’s international reputation for research excellence.”
The Trinity-based CONNECT centre is funded by SFI. Linking together 10 Irish universities and research institutions, it aims to develop and design new methods of telecommunication. The centre already works with numerous international companies, including Google and IBM.
