Dr. Xiaoming Chen

Humboldt Research Fellow at the Institute for Digital Communications

Wireless communications and signal processing

Dr. Xiaoming Chen obtained his PhD in electronic engineering from Zhejiang University, China, in 2011. He then joined Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in China, where he is currently an Associate Professor. He was a Visiting Professor at Singapore University of Technology and Design during the summers of 2012 and 2013.

His research fields are in wireless communications and signal processing with a particular focus on physical layer security. He has published more than 50 papers in IEEE journals and conferences. He is serving as an editor of IEEE Communications Letters and an associate editor of IEEE Access. He joined the Institute for Digital Communications at FAU as a Humboldt Research Fellow from February 2015 to June 2016.

There are lots of famous professors and research fellows in the field of wireless communications at FAU.

What exactly sparked your interest in your field of research?

Information security is a critical issue in wireless communications. Due to the broadcast nature of wireless channels, wireless signal can be also received by unintended nodes, leading to an interception event. My research aims to guarantee secure communications through physical layer techniques.

What were your reasons for choosing FAU as your host institution for a research period abroad?

There are lots of famous professors and research fellows in the field of wireless communications at FAU’s Institute for Digital Communications. I expect to exchange ideas and collaborate with them during my visiting.

How visible is FAU in your field of research on the international stage?

I am at the Institute for Digital Communications chaired by Prof. Robert Schober, who is a world-famous scholar in wireless communications. He was an editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Communications.

If you compare your home University to FAU: what are, from your point of view, the most evident differences?

FAU is a typical German university, and each professor conducts their research independently. At my home university, we like to jointly work in a big group with several professors.

Could you give us a short summary of the project your research group is working on?

My research group at FAU aims to achieve the goal of high-speed, secure and sustainable wireless communication. We develop various wireless techniques to approach this goal.

What is your main task within your research group/your project?

I am one of the main research scientists in my research group. I am responsible for designing physical layer security techniques to realize secure transmission over wireless channels.

What are the most important results of your research at FAU to date?

I propose to use massive multiple-input multiple-output techniques to guarantee wireless security, which can solve two challenging issues in physical layer security, namely no eavesdropper information and short distance interception.

How does your research benefit or affect society?

I intend to provide advanced wireless communications, so as to satisfy the demand of various wireless services, while guaranteeing information security.

What were your first and subsequent impressions of the Erlangen-Nuremberg region?

I was impressed by the large coverage of forest in this area. I enjoyed jogging and biking in the forest with my family. People here also enjoy doing these sports.

Can you already tell us a highlight, a moment from your stay, which you find particularly memorable?

I can’t forget the moment when I saw the Erlangen carnival parade with my daughter; we enjoyed that very much.

What are your favourite places at FAU and Erlangen-Nuremberg?

The national museum, the train museum and the forest.

Is there anything else you would like to mention?

If possible, I would like to visit FAU again in the future.

Thank you for the interview!

Interview: May 2016