A. Bruce McDonald

Phone: 617-373-3028
Fax: 617-373-8970
Email: mcdonald@ece.neu.edu

Lab and Students' Office: 237 Egan Technology Transfer Center
Lab Phone: 617-373-3009

Research interests

Electronic communications involves the reliable transport of information that may or may not be inherently electronic or digital in form. The objective of electronic communications, and networks in particular, is to provide fair and reliable access to set of robust and cost-effective tools that enable people and machines, possibly heterogeneous and widely separated, to gather, process and convey information regardless of its original form or intended application. Prof. McDonald's interests are in topics related to computer and data communications networks, namely, routing algorithms, network performance analysis, wireless ad-hoc networks, mobility management, communications protocols, internetworking, stochastic simulation and distributed systems. His current research is focused on the development and analysis of adaptive algorithms for routing, dynamic organization and resource management in wireless ad-hoc networks. He is particularly interested in the interactions between different communications 'layers' and how understanding these dynamic processes can lead to more robust network control and, thus, open new application domains for reconfigurable wireless networks. He is also investigating mobility and statistical estimation of node location and link quality to understand its impact on power consumption, network performance and the development of models and techniques for utilizing uncertain knowledge in multidimensional dynamic environments in order to optimize network performance and allocate resources in order to satisfy statistical quality-of-service constraints. In addition, Prof. McDonald is investigating and validating tools for improving the runtime of ad hoc network simulation that do not sacrifice fidelity nor the impact of interacting effects. His primary areas of interest include the following:

• Theoretical Performance Bounds
• Queuing Models
• Mobility Modeling
• Statistical Quality-of-Service Routing in Wireless Networks
• Dynamic Adaptive Clustering
• Geodesic Routing and Mobility Management
• Internetworking, Address Resolution and Naming
• Discrete Event Simulation
• Distributed Systems and Network Design

Professional Experience and Educational Background

Dr. McDonald earned Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from the University of Pittsburgh ('00,'95) and a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University ('86). He is currently an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Northeastern University in Boston. Prof. McDonald's current research interests are focused on cross-layer interaction and the development of methodologies for supporting statistically bounded QoS support involving adaptive real-time applications in dynamic wireless networks. Prof. McDonald has served as the Program Chair for the SCS Communications Networks and Distributed Systems Conference (CNDS'02, CNDS'03 and CNDS'04) and has served on several other Conference Program Committees. From 1996-2000 he served as a Sr. Computer Engineer in the Dept. of Neurophysiology at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh where he developed distributed tools for real-time physiological monitoring in the ICU and in 1996 he was as a Visiting Researcher in the Applied Network Research Group at Bellcore in Redbank NJ. His prior positions include Systems and Applications Engineering at Timeplex and Micom Systems (1987-1989) and Network Engineer for the Municipality of Newton Massachusetts (1989-1992).

Teaching

Links to Course Web Sites

• ECE 1458: Data Communications Networks (Spring 2003)
• ECE 1330: Noise and Stochastic Processes (Winter 2003)

Recent Graduate and Undergraduate Courses Taught:

(2003) : ECE 1458: Communications Networks
(2003) : ECE 1330: Noise and Stochastic Processes
(2003) : ECE 1330: Noise and Stochastic Processes: Honors Adjunct
(2003) : ECE 3511: Communications Networks and Performance Engineering
(2002) : ECE 1458: Communications Networks
(2002) : ECE 3655: Special Topics in Computer Networks
(2003) : ECE 3511: Communications Networks and Performance Engineering
(2001) : ECE 3650: Local Area Networks and Internetworking
(2001) : ECE 3511: Communications Networks and Performance Engineering
(1997) : TEL 2062: Network Performance (University of Pittsburgh)

Links to Research Related Web Web Sites

• Simulation: OPNET in Classes and Research (Simulation)

Peer reviewed journal articles

1. Santivanez, C., McDonald, A.B., Stavrakakis, I. and Ramanathan, R., "On the Scalability of Ad Hoc Network Routing Protocols. Part 2: Asymptotic Performance Analysis on the Effects of Traffic, Mobility and Network Size." Submitted for Peer Review August 2002.
2. Santivanez, C., Ramanathan, R., Stavrakakis, I. and McDonald, A.B., "On the Scalability of Ad Hoc Network Routing Protocols. Part 1: Strategies for Scalable Link-State Routing." Submitted for Peer Review June 2002.
3. McDonald, A.B., and Znati, T.F., "Statistical Estimation of Link Availability and Its Impact on Routing in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks." Wiley Journal of Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing, Accepted for publication; In-Press.
4. Goldstein, B., McNames, J., McDonald, A.B., Ellenby, M.S., Lai, S., Sun, Z., Krieger, D. and Sclabassi, R.J. "A Physiological Data Acquisition System and Database for the Study of Disease Dynamics in the Intensive Care Unit." Critical Care Medicine: The Official Journal of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, Vol. 31, No. 2, 2003, pp. 433-441.
5. McDonald, A.B., and Znati, T.F., "Design and Performance of and Distributed Dynamic Clustering Algorithm for Multimode Routing in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks." Simulation: Transactions of the Society for Computer Simulation and Modeling International, Special Issue on Simulation and Modeling of Computer Systems and Networks, Vol. 78, No. 70, July 2002, pp. 408-422.
6. Ellenby, M.S., McNames, J., Lai, S., McDonald, A.B., Krieger, D., Sclabassi, R.J. and Goldstein B, "Uncoupling and Recoupling of Autonomic Regulation of the Heart Beat in Pediatric Septic Shock." SHOCK: Journal of the Shock Society, Vol. 16, No. 4, October 2002, pp 274-277.
7. McDonald, A.B. and Znati, T., "A Mobility-Based Framework for Adaptive Clustering in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks." IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communication (J-Sac), Special Issue on Wireless Ad Hoc Networks, Vol. 17, No. 8, August 1999, pp. 1466-1487.
8. McDonald, A.B and Znati, T., "ARP Versus ES-IS:Performance Evaluation of Neighbor-Greeting Protocols." The Computer Journal, Vol. 39, No. 10, November 1996, pp. 856-867.

1. Santivanez, C. and McDonald, A.B., "Progressive Scaling: A Methodology for Efficient Validation and Parameter Tuning of Large Ad Hoc Network Simulations." Proceeding of The Communications Networks and Distributed Systems Modeling and Simulation Conference (CNDS), Orlando FL, January 19-23, 2003, pp. 31-36.
2. Santivanez, C., McDonald, A.B., Stavrakakis, I. and Ramanathan, R., "On the Scalability of Ad Routing Protocols." Proceedings of the 21st Annual Combined Conference of The IEEE Computer and Communications Societies (INFOCOM), New York, June 23-27 2002, IEEE Proceedings Vol. 3, pp. 1688-1697.
3. Fang, Y. and McDonald, A.B., "Cross-layer Performance Effects of Path-Coupling in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks: Implications for Throughput, Power and Scalability." Proceedings of The 21st Annual IEEE International Performance, Computing and Communications Conference (IPCCC), Phoenix AZ, April 3-5 2002, pp. 281-290.
4. McDonald, A.B. and Znati, T., "Design and Performance of a Distributed Dynamic Clustering Algorithm for Ad Hoc Networks." Proceedings of The 34th Annual IEEE/ACM Simulation Symposium (AISS), Seattle WA, April 2001, pp. 27-35.
5. Rao, S., McDonald, A.B. and Znati, T., "Design and Analysis of Hierarchical Group-Based Mobility for Ad-Hoc Networks." Proceedings of The Communications Networks and Distributed Systems Modeling and Simulation Conference (CNDS), Phoenix AZ, January 2001, pp.
6. McDonald, A.B. and Znati, T., "A Dual-Hybrid Adaptive Routing Strategy for Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks." Proceedings of The IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC), Chicago, IL, September 2000, pp. 1125-1130.
7. McDonald A.B. and Znati, T., "Predicting Node Proximity in Ad-Hoc Networks: A Least Overhead Adaptive Model for Selecting Stable Routes." Proceedings of The First Annual ACM Workshop for Mobile Ad Hoc Networking and Computing (MobiHOC), Boston, MA, August 2000, pp. 29-33.
8. McDonald, A.B. and Znati, T., "A Path Availability Model for Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks." Proceedings The IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC), New Orleans, LA, September 1999, pp. 35-40.
9. Meempat, G. and McDonald, A.B., "Mobile Teleconferencing: Design and Performance of Architectures for Inter-Switch Handoff Management and Session Multicasting." Proceedings of The IEEE International Conference on Universal Personal Communications (ICUPC now WCNC), Florence IT, October 1998, pp.
10. McDonald, A.B. and Znati., T., "ARP Versus ES-IS: Performance Comparison of Neighbor-Greeting Protocols." Proceedings of The 29th Annual IEEE/ACM Simulation Symposium (AISS), New Orleans LA, April 1996, pp. 71-80.

1. Goldstein B., Ellenby M., Lai S., McNames J., McDonald A.B., Krieger D., Sclabassi R.J. and Buchman T.G., "Characterization of Variability in Physiologic Time Signals During Hypotension in Pediatric Sepsis." Proceedings of The Annual Symposium for the Society for Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), 2001, Vol. 28:A46, Refereed Abstract.
2. Ellenby, M.S., McNames, J., Lai, S., McDonald, A.B., Krieger, D., Sclabassi, R.J. and Goldstein, B., "Dynamic Assessment of Intracranial Hypertention." Journal of Investigative Medicine, Traumatic Brain Issue, Vol. 49 (80A), 2001, Refereed Abstract.
3. Goldstein, B., Lai, S., Bratton, S., Ellenby, M., McDonald, A.B., Krieger, D. and Sclabassi, R.J. "Correlation of Dynamic Assessment of Organ System Coupling with Tissue Perfusion in Pediatric Sepsis." American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000 Fall Meeting.
4. McDonald, A.B and Krieger, D., Sclabassi, R.J. and Goldstein, B., "A Real-Time, Continuous Physiologic Data Acquisition System For The Study Of Dynamical Disease In The Intensive Care Unit." Proceedings of The Annual Symposium for the Society for Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), Orlando, FL, February 2000, Vol. 27:A88, Refereed Abstract.
5. McDonald, A.B., "Mobility and Wireless Communications: New Paradigms in Dynamic Wireless Network Design." IEEE Student Chapter Speaker Series, Northeastern University, Boston MA, January 2000.
6. Meempat, G. and McDonald, A.B., "Teleconferencing on the Battlefield: Design and Analysis of Architectures and Algorithms for Mobility Management and Conference Bridging." Bellcore Technical Document. January 1997, Speaker: A.B. McDonald.
7. Meempat, G. and McDonald, A.B., "Simulation Study of Handoff Rerouting Strategies to Support Mobility of Wireless Users in ATM Backbone Networks." The 6th annual IEEE Workshop on Computer Aided Modeling, Part of IEEE Milcom, Maclean VA, October 1996, Invited Talk, Speaker: A.B. McDonald.
8. Meempat, G. and McDonald, A.B., "Network Design and Evolution for Integrating Wireless Mobility into Broadband Network Infrastructure." Bellcore Technical Document. September 1996, Speaker: A.B. McDonald.

Journal, Conference Proceedings and Books Edited

1. Proceedings for The Communication Networks and Distributed Systems Modeling and Simulation Conference. Published by the Society for Modeling and Simulation International (SCS), San Diego CA, 2003, ISBN: 1-56555-261-X.
2. Proceedings for The Communication Networks and Distributed Systems Modeling and Simulation Conference. Published by the Society for Modeling and Simulation International (SCS), San Diego CA, 2002, ISBN: 1-56555-244-X.

Graduate Research Students:

• Yue Fang, RA, (CDSP) Ph.D. Candidate, Graduation Expected December 2003 (Proposal June 2003).
• Aibin Guo, (CE) M.S. Thesis Defense June 2003.
• Mustafa Ozdemir, RA, (CDSP) Ph.D. Candidate, Graduation Expected Fall 2004.
• Sophia Priga-Fotopoulou, (CE) M.S. Thesis Defense April 18 2003.
• Emre Safak, TA, (CDSP) M.S. Thesis Defense May 2003.
• Cesar Santinvanez, (CDSP) Ph.D., Graduated May 2002.
• Daniel Ugarte, RA, (CDSP) M.S./Ph.D., M.S. Thesis Defense Expected Fall 2003.
• Hon-Yin Wong, (CDSP) M.S. Thesis Defense April 7 2003.

• (2003) NSF Proposal Panelist ANIR/ANR: ITR Small March 2003.
• (2003) Technical Program Committee: HICSS-38 Mobile and Distributed Information Track; 2004.
• (2003) Member of Graduate Admissions Committee; Chair Brad Lehman (ECE).
• (2003) Faculty Co-Advisor to Northeastern IEEE Student Chapter.
• (2003) Voting Faculty Rep. of Northeastern University Technology Steering Committee (UTC).
• (2003) Technical Program Chair: SCS CNDS'04, San Diego, CA, January 2004.
• (2003) Technical Program Committee: IEEE/ACM Simulation Symposium 2004.
• (2003) Technical Program Committee: ACM MobiHoc Poster Session; Chair Jason Redi; 2003.
• (2002) Faculty Co-Advisor to Northeastern IEEE Student Chapter.
• (2002) Member of Ad Hoc Committee Proposing Changes to UTC Process; July 2002.
• (2002) Voting Faculty Rep. of Northeastern University Technology Steering Committee (UTC).
• (2002) Member of Information Engineering Organizing Committee (ECE).
• (2002) Member of Telecommunications Management Organizing Committee (COE).
• (2002) Technical Program Chair: SCS CNDS'03, Orlando, FL, January 2003.
• (2002) Technical Program Committee: IEEE/ACM Simulation Symposium 2003.
• (2002) Technical Program Committee: HICSS-37 Mobile and Distributed Information Track; 2003.
• (2002) Reviewer: IEEE Computer and Communications Societies (INFOCOM) 2003.
• (2002) NSF Proposal Panelist ANIR/ANR: ITR Small} June 5-6 2002.
• (2001) Reviewer: IEEE Computer and Communications Societies (INFOCOM) 2002.
• (2001) Technical Program Chair: SCS CNDS'03, San Antonio TX, January 2002.
• (2001) NSF Proposal Panelist ANIR/ANR: ITR Small May 2001.
• (2001) Member Faculty Search Committee (ECE).
• (2001) Technical Program Committee: IEEE Symposium on Wireless Ad Hoc Networks.