Principal Investigator
Nima Afraz
Tenured Assistant Professor, UCD
Open RAN, network automation, satellite and non-terrestrial
networks, blockchain, network economics and infrastructure
virtualisation.
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Dr. Nima Afraz is a Tenured Assistant Professor in the
School of Computer Science at University College Dublin
and leads the Network Intelligence and Automation Lab.
His research focuses on Open Radio Access Networks,
autonomous network management, satellite and
non-terrestrial networks, blockchain applications in
telecommunications, network economics, and infrastructure
virtualisation.
Research Interests
- Open RAN and xApp conflict management
- Autonomous network management
- Satellite and non-terrestrial networks
- Network economics and resource sharing
- Blockchain for telecommunications
- Infrastructure virtualisation
Selected Projects
- National Space Subsystems and Payloads Initiative, NSSPI
- RE-ROUTE
- Data-Driven xApps Conflict Management in Open RAN
Postdoctoral Fellow
Anupa De Silva
Satellite Networks & Network Economics
Satellite resource sharing, blockchain, inter-satellite
networking, network economics and distributed systems.
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Anupa De Silva is a Postdoctoral Researcher at
University College Dublin contributing to the
National Space Subsystems and Payloads Initiative.
His research focuses on the integration of blockchain
technologies into satellite communication systems and
the development of secure, scalable, and economically
sustainable resource-sharing mechanisms for space networks.
He received his PhD in Engineering from the University
of Galway, where his doctoral research investigated
Payment Channel Networks. He previously worked as a
Research Engineer at Nanyang Technological University,
Singapore.
Research Interests
- Satellite communications
- Inter-satellite resource sharing
- Blockchain
- Network economics
- Game theory and auctions
- Distributed systems
Postdoctoral Fellow
Rashmi Sharan Sinha
Open RAN, Wireless Communications & AI
Open RAN, 5G/6G, non-terrestrial networks,
wireless sensing, signal processing and AI-driven optimisation.
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Rashmi Sharan Sinha is a Postdoctoral Researcher
with the School of Computer Science at University
College Dublin and is affiliated with the CONNECT
Research Centre.
She received her PhD in Electronics and Electrical
Engineering from Dongguk University, South Korea.
She previously worked as a Research Scientist at
Temasek Laboratories, Nanyang Technological University.
Research Interests
- Open RAN
- 5G and 6G wireless communications
- Non-terrestrial networks
- AI-driven PHY and MAC optimisation
- Wireless sensing
- Indoor localisation
Research Engineer
Hesam Nejati Sharifaldin
Energy-Efficient & High-Performance Computing
Energy-efficient computing, performance and power modelling,
heterogeneous CPU–GPU systems, DVFS and hardware-aware optimisation.
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Hesam Nejati Sharifaldin is a Research Engineer with the
School of Computer Science at University College Dublin.
He received his PhD in Computer Science from University
College Dublin, Ireland.
His research focuses on high-performance and energy-efficient
computing, with particular emphasis on performance, power and
energy modelling of multicore processors, dynamic voltage and
frequency scaling, workload characterisation and heterogeneous
CPU–GPU systems.
His work is measurement-driven and includes the use of hardware
performance counters and low-level processor telemetry for
performance, power and energy analysis.
Research Interests
- High-Performance Computing
- Energy-Efficient Computing
- Performance, Power and Energy Modelling
- Heterogeneous CPU–GPU Computing
- Multicore Processor Performance Analysis
- Workload Characterisation
- Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS)
- Hardware Performance Monitoring
- Distributed Systems and Distributed Databases
PhD Researcher
Abdul Wadud
Open RAN Conflict Management
Open RAN conflict management, optimisation,
wireless networks and AI/ML for communication systems.
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Abdul Wadud is a PhD Researcher at the UCD School
of Computer Science and a Research Associate at the
Bangladesh Institute of Governance and Management.
His research focuses on intelligent conflict detection,
prevention, mitigation and resolution mechanisms for
Open RAN, as well as optimisation and AI/ML techniques
for communication networks.
Research Interests
- Open RAN conflict management
- Wireless mobile networks
- Network optimisation
- AI/ML for communications
- Optical networking
PhD Researcher
Ali Deylamy
AI for 5G/6G Networks
AI-assisted network control, mobility and handover,
radio propagation and next-generation wireless systems.
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Ali Deylamy is a PhD researcher at University College
Dublin investigating AI-assisted control and optimisation
of next-generation mobile networks.
He holds a Master’s degree in Telecommunications
Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and has
professional networking experience with FASTWEB,
Vodafone and Cisco.
Research Interests
- 5G and 6G networks
- Mobility and handover control
- AI-driven network optimisation
- Network simulation
- Wireless propagation
PhD Researcher
Behnaz Behara
Blockchain, AI & Digital Health
Blockchain-assisted clinical systems,
intelligent digital health, IoMT and secure data governance.
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Behnaz Behara is a PhD candidate in Biomedical
Engineering at K. N. Toosi University of Technology,
specialising in decentralised digital health systems.
Her research combines blockchain, AI-assisted clinical
decision-making, wearable IoMT systems and secure
healthcare data governance.
Research Interests
- Blockchain and Hyperledger Fabric
- Digital health
- Clinical decision support
- IoMT and wearable systems
- Artificial intelligence
Visiting Researcher
Olivier Atangana
PhD Visiting Researcher, Summer 2025
Central Bank Digital Currencies, offline payments,
cryptography, privacy and AI-assisted fraud detection.
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Olivier Atangana is a PhD researcher specialising
in Central Bank Digital Currencies, secure offline
retail payment systems, cryptography and privacy.
He is affiliated with GREYC Lab, ENSICAEN and the
University of Caen Normandy and works as a
Cryptocurrency Researcher at Fime.
Research Interests
- Central Bank Digital Currencies
- Offline payments
- Post-quantum cryptography
- Privacy
- AI for fraud detection
Research Intern
Karthik Sanugula
Space Science Master’s Student
Satellite networking, GEO/LEO communication,
NS-3 simulation and satellite systems.
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Karthik Sanugula is a Space Science Master’s student
at UCD who worked as a research intern with the NSSPI
research team.
His work focused on satellite communication scenarios
using NS-3 and satellite simulation tools, including
evaluation of communication between GEO and LEO satellites.
Research Interests
- Satellite communications
- GEO and LEO networking
- NS-3 simulation
- Satellite systems
Research Intern
Bichoy Daoud
Computer Science Student
Satellite communication simulation,
NS-3, network analysis, Python and data visualisation.
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Bichoy Daoud is an engineering student at
Polytech Marseille, Aix-Marseille University,
who joined NIA as a research intern within
the NSSPI programme.
His work focused on NS-3 simulation and analysis
of satellite-to-ground communication networks,
including development of tools for extracting,
processing and visualising communication metrics.
Research Interests
- Satellite communications
- NS-3 simulation
- Network analysis
- Python
- Data visualisation
