Muriel Medard Massachusetts Inst. of Tech
Network Coding --- From Theory to Practice
The efficient use of network resources is a central objective in making information available in today's society. Despite an enormous effort in understanding the modes in which networks can, do, and should operate, a unified and concise theory of networking has remained elusive. Before this backdrop, this research aims at developing and leveraging a combined view of a number of traditionally separate, network-related issues. In this context, the research team will investigate issues varying from fundamental questions about the structure of networks employing network coding over an array of specific network scenarios, network robustness, network information theoretic aspects to questions involving practical aspects of networks. This ambitious project is driven by the notion of "Network Coding", a recent discovery that is central to this proposal. Not only is network coding a fresh and sharp tool that has the potential to open up stagnant fundamental areas of research, but due to its cross-cutting nature it naturally suggests a unified treatment of previously segmented areas. In particular, the research addresses the interplay of network coding in the context of network management, network information theory, compression and channel codes in networks and distributed scheduling and routing algorithms. The understanding of intrinsic fundamental performance limits of networks across different tasks, holds the potential to not only create a cornerstone in the theory of networks but also to build new and robust bridges between previously unconnected areas.
