October  2007 

TCOM ALUMNI NEWSLETTER

Welcome to the New TCOM Alumni Newsletter!
This newsletter is targeted to all TCOM alumni and well-wishers. Each month, we will publish the newsletter regarding changes in the program and the direction of our continuing growth.  We also expect to include personal news about our alumni, current students, faculty and staff.  Each issue will feature one or more recent graduates.  In this issue we will feature Mostafa Dahshan and Alan Harris.

WHAT IS IN A NAME?
Some of you might have seen in the press that the name of the master’s program, Telecommunications Systems, has changed to Telecommunications Engineering Program. Our new name is consistent with the broad scope of the school and college, removes any ambiguity about our engineering focus, and earns our rightful position in the university. 
Along with this change, the master’s program also offers a six-credit hour thesis option – a much coveted alternative for those who wish to pursue a doctoral degree.  The professional project option remains the same.

ALUMNI REUNION
The TCOM Alumni had a reunion in November 2006. Many of our alumni joined the meeting which included several speeches by professionals in industry and academia. As predicted, the industry is well on its way to recovery.  We hope to plan a reunion every few years.    

DONATION TO TCOM
The TCOM foundation account received a donation of $1,000 from Peng Yan, a recent graduate of the program.  This donation will assist in funding the weekly Research Seminar and other collaborative meetings.  It is with great pleasure that we acknowledge and accept his kind donation.

YOUNG TCOM ARRIVAL
Hakki Refai, a former graduate and current research scientist at OU-Tulsa, is father to a new baby girl, Sarya. She was born on June 8, 2007 and weighed 7.1 pounds.  Hakki’s wife, Badia, is a current master’s student in the Telecommunications Engineering Program.

FEATURED ALUMNI

Mostafa H. Dahshan has received his B.S. degree in Computer Engineering from Cairo University, Egypt in 1999. He received his M.S. in Telecommunications Systems and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Oklahoma, USA in 2002 and 2006, respectively. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. His current research interests include Computer Networks and Quality of Service. Mostafa@alumni.ou.edu

 

Alan Harris is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. He received a B.S. in Physics-Engineering in 1994 from the University of Central Oklahoma, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2002 and 2005 respectively, from the University of Oklahoma. At the University of North Florida, Alan is teaching undergraduate Electrical Engineering classes in the areas of fiber optics, electronics and power. He was voted Electrical Engineering Professor of the year for 2006/7. He continues to pursue his research in the areas of free space optical communications and passive optical networks. Alan is currently a member of the SPIE and IEEE. alan.harris@unf.ed

 NOTE: If you change your email address, please inform Renee Wagenblatt (rwagenblatt@ou.edu). Please keep in contact with us of your current endeavors.