Dr. Norman Beaulieu

 

Professor, Faculty of Engineering
University of Alberta
iCORE Chair, Canada Research Chair                                           

 
Not many scientists get the honour of having a technique or procedure named after them. But when international researchers use an ingenious mathematical method called the “Beaulieu series” to compute the outage and coverage of cellular telephone systems it’s one more indication of the profound impact Dr. Norman Beaulieu has had on the field of wireless communications.

Dr. Beaulieu is a leader in the analysis and modeling of wireless communications systems. He has made groundbreaking contributions on a number of fronts, from performance analysis of wireless systems and modeling of fading channels to novel electrical pulse shapes for data modems. His work has provided solutions to fundamental problems abandoned by others as too difficult and has opened doors to subsequent research by scientists around the world. His results and techniques have been used by researchers in other fields including environmental management, resource economics, agriculture and commerce.

Since coming to Alberta in 2000 as iCORE Research Chair in Broadband Wireless Communications, Dr. Beaulieu has filed seven patent applications on behalf of the University of Alberta for important inventions in wireless systems. During that time his leadership of the iCORE Wireless Communications Laboratory has established Edmonton and Alberta as one of the strongest wireless research centres in the world. In 2001, Dr. Beaulieu was appointed Canada Research Chair in Broadband Wireless Communications, making him likely the only researcher in Canada to hold two major chairs.