Two UoA PhD students won the 2015 IEEE ComSoc Sendai Chapter Student Excellent Research Awards

Vuong V. Mai and Phuc V. Trinh won the IEEE ComSoc Sendai Chapter Student Excellent Research Award 2015, both supervised and recommended by Professor Anh T. Pham of the Computer Communications Laboratory (CCL) (*1). The award is targeted to students in Tohoku region with excellent achievements in research areas covered the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc). Every year, a maximum of three students are selected for this distinguished award.

Founded in 1952 with the formation of IRE's (Institute of Radio Engineers) Professional Group on Communications Systems (PGCS), IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) (*2) has evolved into a diverse group of global industry professionals with a common interest in advancing all communications technologies. Since the Communications Society began operations in January 1972 as an independent Society of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) (*3) with over 8,800 members, ComSoc has become the premier international forum for the exchange of ideas on communications technologies and information networking.

Vuong V. Mai is currently working toward a Ph.D. degree (D2) at CCL. His current research focuses on cross-layer design and performance analysis for Optical Wireless Communications. He was awarded UoA President's Award of Excellence for Masters study (2013), the IEEE Sendai Section Student Encouragement Award (2013) and the IEEE student travel grants for IEEE GLOBECOM 2015. His study in Japan is funded by a Japanese government scholarship (Monbukagaku-sho).

Phuc V. Trinh is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree (D1) at CCL. His study in Japan is funded by a Japanese government scholarship (Monbukagaku-sho). He was the recipient of several awards, including the IEEE Sendai Section's Student Award (2014), the UoA President's Award for the best Master's student (2015), the Young Researcher's Encouragement Award from IEEE VTS Japan Chapter (2015). His current research interests are in the area of optical wireless communications, including modulation techniques, coding, system modeling and simulation, and performance analysis.

Comment from Vuong V. Mai: "I am very pleased and delighted to receive the student excellent researcher award from IEEE ComSoc Sendai Chapter for my research achievements in 2015. This award highly motivates and encourages me to make more contributions in IEEE society and international research communities. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Prof. Anh T. Pham for his great guidance and supervision. I also highly appreciate UoA for research support grants. Being a part of IEEE society activities, an IEEE Student Group has just established in UoA. We welcome all students to joint the group for sharing technical, professional, and personal interests with others in the worldwide member community of IEEE."

Comment from Phuc V. Trinh: "In the first place, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Anh T. Pham, for his advice, guidance, continuous support, and constant enthusiasm throughout my studies in his research group. I am also immensely grateful and delighted to be awarded the 2015 IEEE ComSoc Sendai Chapter Student Excellent Researcher Award. This award marks a milestone in my scientific career and gives me both encouragement and inspiration."

*1 Professor Anh T. Pham of the Computer Communications Laboratory (CCL)

*2 IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc)

*3 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)