Ashwin Amanna

Experience

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  Intel

  Jun 1989 - Dec 1989

  Engineering CO-OP

  - Researched and developed a means of extracting parasitic layout utilizing ECAD

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  Food and Drug Administration

  May 1993 - Apr 1994

  Research Engineer

  I performed an engineering Co-Op with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Science and Engineering Labs, Center for Devices and Radiological Health over a summer and a semester. This position was based out of their Maryland labs as well as the VA medical center in Washington, DC. The research projected teamed with a cardiology lab of Georgetown based at the hospital. We studied an optical method of detecting and measuring electrical activity in cardiac tissue. Cardiac muscles were bathed in voltage sensitive dyes such that the reflected fluorescence of the dye changed in the presence of electrical activity. A fiber optic fiber was used to direct laser light and measure the reflected fluorescence. The goal behind the project was to be able to measure what happens in heart tissue under defibrillation. Traditional EKG machines clip under the high voltage of defibrillation. I was able to develop my masters thesis on this method. Show less

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  Virginia Tech

  Aug 1994 - Aug 2012

  At the Institute for Critical Technologies and Applied Sciences at Virginia Tech, my mission was to foster interdisciplinary research in the areas of cognitive science and wireless communications. This required someone who could get disparate academic disciplines to work together to pursue funded research.- Developed interdisciplinary research in the areas of cognitive science and wireless communications- Implemented Design of Experiments (DOE) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) on wireless systems to develop predictive models of performance metrics using only empirically collected observations Show less As a Senior Research Associate, I was funded solely on sponsored research contracts. I successfully won and managed over $8M in funding in various areas in transportation and wireless communications. Sponsors included Cisco Systems, FHWA and VDOT.- Assisted VDOT with development of wireless communications Master Plan- Investigated the use of Remote Wireless Sensor Networks for use in transportation- Developed best practices for deployment of Cisco 3200 Mobile Wireless Router- Deployed hybrid 2.4GHz/5.0GHz and a MESH based networks on testbed highway- Quantified Layer 2 and Layer 3 roaming delay during wireless handover in vehicles- Developed bandwidth benchmarking methodologies for wireless networks- Investigated emerging wireless broadband technolgies for transportation applications- Supported wireless ITS applications at Northern Virginia Regional Operations of VDOT Show less - Designed and developed Smart Road Wireless test bed- Designed and specified Salem VDOT Wireless LAN to support wireless video cameras- Developed tools for bandwidth evaluation of serial highway wireless IP networks- Evaluated 802.11a/b/g wireless systems for bandwidth degradation across multiple serial links- Evaluated and optimized digital MPEG4 video applications across wireless networks- Deployed 6 nodes of a 2.4GHz and 4.9GHz Cisco 3200 Mobile Router along the Smart Road- Analyzed Cisco network in mobile applications quantifying handoff latency during roaming- Evaluated antennas, amplifiers, channel plans, and router configurations - Procured, managed and tested NTCIP V2 dynamic message signs and control software Show less As a research associate, I performed sponsored research for customers including VDOT and FHWA in the area of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). I developed a user assessment protocol of a Smart Parking system and performed user focus groups to identify key issues. I also focused on wireless communications needs related to automated highway systems (AHS) and assessed the feasibility of E-911 Mayday systems in the I-95 corridor. Virginia Tech was designing the first transportation test bed highway of its kind, known as the Smart Road. I was responsible for the preliminary infrastructure system design to support flexible research needs Show less

  • Program Manager National Security, and Cognition and Communications

    Jan 2012 - Aug 2012

  • Business Development Manager - Wireless@Virginia Tech

    Jan 2009 - Aug 2012

  • Senior Research Associate

    Jun 1999 - Aug 2012

  • Assistant Director - Center for Technology Deployment - VTTI

    Jul 2003 - Jul 2006

  • Wireless Applications Project Manager - VTTI

    Sept 2001 - Jul 2003

  • Operations Director of the Virginia Smart Road - VTTI

    Aug 1999 - Sept 2001

  • Project Manager for the Virginia Smart Road - VTTI

    Aug 1997 - Aug 1999

  • Research Associate - VTTI

    Jun 1996 - Aug 1997

  • Research Assistant - Center for Transportation Research

    Jan 1995 - Jun 1996

  • Research Assistant - Mobile Portable Radio Research Group

    Aug 1994 - Jan 1995
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  Federated Wireless

  Aug 2012 - Feb 2014

  Director of Engineering

  I was the first employee on the ground of this venture capital startup addressing the areas of traffic shaping and spectrum sharing. The company was founded by Drs. Charles Clancy, Jeff Reed, Joe Mitola, and Bob McGwier and funded by Allied Minds.- Co-developed resource allocation algorithms for improved data flow on congested networks- Designed test bed architecture for implementing traffic shaping between handsets and core network- Applied data transformation using utility functions to smartphone application quality of experience metrics for use with machine optimization- Recruited and led three direct reports to implement prototype traffic shaping system - Co-authored comments to FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Spectrum Sharing and Spectrum Access System licensing and technical requirements in 3550-3650MHz Band- Explored empirical data approaches to quantify causal relationship between radar operations and LTE performance metrics- Managed IP portfolio in traffic shaping and spectrum sharing leading to four patent applications - Led the standup of company offices in Reston, VA as first full-time employee Show less

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  ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC

  Feb 2014 - now

  I am a Senior Research Scientist software-based waveform development. Our team supports Air Force Research Lab, Army PEO AVN, and commercial customers. • Principal Investigator for Rapid Innovation Fund (RIF) evaluation of Government waveforms • Principal Investigator for AFRL rapid development of tactical waveforms on software defined radio: STD-CDL (common data link), BE-CDL (Bandwidth efficient CDL), DDL (Digital data link)• Principal Investigator for physical layer authentication in Positive Train Control Communications. • Successfully obtained over $6M in sponsored research funding• Directly managed team of 9 engineers Show less

  • Chief Research Scientist

    Jan 2022 - now

  • Senior Research Scientist

    Feb 2014 - Apr 2022