Quick links: Open Opportunities · Research Focus · Why Iowa State · Why Ames · How to Apply · Externally Funded Students · Contact
Open Opportunities
I am actively recruiting motivated students and scholars to join my research group. Available positions include:
- Ph.D. students: with research assistantships supported by ongoing NSF and NTIA projects when available.
- M.Sc. students: thesis-track students with strong systems-building or modeling skills.
- Undergraduate researchers: including REU positions through the ARA Wireless Living Lab.
- Visiting scholars: with research records in wireless networks, RIS, UAV communications, wireless security, IoT, or AI for networking.
Before contacting me, please read the rest of this page and check my research and projects and publications so we can have a focused first conversation. I read every email inquiry, even when I cannot reply to each one individually.
Research Focus
My group works at the intersection of wireless networking, secure systems, and AI-driven optimization. Active threads include:
- 5G and 6G wireless networks: self-healing, X-haul, cell-outage compensation, Open RAN.
- Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS), including STAR-RIS and active-RIS designs for energy harvesting and IoT.
- UAV-enabled and tethered/untethered aerial communications.
- Wireless and cellular security; cybersecurity engineering education.
- Energy harvesting and batteryless IoT.
- Multimodal and agentic large-language-model frameworks for wireless perception, beam prediction, blockage, and handover management.
- AI-enabled course assistants and educational technology (CourseGPT, ZenEra, ALAN AI integrations).
- Rural broadband and precision-agriculture applications via the ARA Wireless Living Lab testbed.
Our work is collaborative: students partner with peers across ECpE, with industry partners on Open RAN and wireless platforms, and with rural communities served by the ARA testbed. Students get hands-on access to real wireless infrastructure rather than only simulations.
Why Iowa State University
Iowa State is a leading land-grant research university and a Carnegie R1 institution. The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has more than a century of distinguished history: including pioneering work on the world’s first electronic digital computer (the Atanasoff–Berry Computer was built here). Today the department supports cutting-edge research in wireless systems, cybersecurity, computer architecture, AI/ML, and power and energy.
For my group specifically, the ARA Wireless Living Lab gives students access to one of the largest open wireless research platforms in the country, plus collaborations with industry, government labs, and other PAWR sites such as POWDER, COSMOS, and ORBIT.
Why Ames, Iowa
Beyond the research, students often tell me they were surprised by how much they enjoy Ames. It is a true college town: about 67,000 residents with the university at its heart: while Des Moines, the state capital, is a 35-minute drive south for additional restaurants, music, sports, and a major airport.
- Repeatedly named one of the best college towns in the United States.
- Low cost of living and short commutes; many students walk or bike to campus.
- Safe, family-friendly, with strong public schools (Ames Community School District).
- Diverse international community; ISU enrolls students from more than 100 countries.
- Four real seasons: from sunny summer farmers markets to crisp autumns to winter sports nearby.
- Outdoor access: Ada Hayden Heritage Park, Skunk River trails, and Iowa’s extensive bike paths.
- Active campus life through CyRide free transit, Cyclones athletics, and a rich student-organization scene including the Egyptian Student Association (which I advise).
Useful starting points: Iowa State University · Campus visit · Tour of Ames · Ames Community School District.
How to Apply
If you have not yet joined ISU, please review the ECpE graduate program and submit a formal application through the ISU Graduate College. I am most able to support students who:
- Have a strong academic background in computer engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or a related discipline (mathematics, statistics).
- Are self-motivated, goal-oriented, and willing to take initiative on open-ended research questions.
- Have experience: or genuine interest: in systems building, wireless software/hardware, mathematical modeling, or applied machine learning.
Funded students may be supported as Graduate Research Assistants on a sponsored project, as Graduate Teaching Assistants, or via fellowships. Funding availability varies by semester and project portfolio, so timing matters: please reach out early relative to your intended start term.
Undergraduate Researchers
Undergraduates with strong programming, hardware, or analytical skills who enjoy hands-on research are warmly welcome. Past undergraduates have contributed to publications in IEEE FIE and to ARA testbed work, and many continued into graduate school. If you are an ISU undergraduate, take a look at the ISU Engineering undergraduate research opportunities and the ARA REU program.
Visiting Scholars
I welcome visiting scholars: including faculty on sabbatical, postdocs, and senior Ph.D. students from other institutions: who have research records aligned with my group’s focus. Please email a CV, a one-page research statement, your proposed visit dates, and a note on funding (self-funded, host institution, government program, etc.).
Externally and Government-Funded Students: Especially Welcome
Students who arrive with their own funding are always welcome in my group. This includes Fulbright scholars, students sponsored by their home government’s scholarship programs, students with employer-sponsored study leave, and students supported by ministry, military-of-education, or development-agency awards. If you have such an award and your research interests overlap with my group’s, please reach out early so we can plan a strong fit between your funding agency’s expectations and a research project that will let you publish and graduate on time. I am happy to work with sponsors on progress reports, secondment letters, and other administrative needs.
A Note on Doing Research with Me
Joining my group means committing to careful, well-documented research; reading and writing regularly; helping fellow group members; and engaging the broader community through papers, code, and demos. In return I commit to honest mentoring, frequent feedback, and the room to develop your own research voice. The best fits are people who are intellectually curious, kind to colleagues, and ready to stick with hard problems long enough to ship real results.
Around the Group
Curious about life in the lab? Take a look at our group photos from meetings, conferences, demos, and student events.
How to Reach Out
Email me at myoussef [at] iastate.edu with:
- A current CV or resume.
- A short paragraph on your research interests and which of my projects you find most exciting (and why).
- Your degree program, intended start term, and funding situation (sponsored, applying for fellowships, seeking RA/TA, etc.).
- One or two writing samples or links to prior projects, if available.
Generic mass emails do not get a response, but a focused note that shows you have read this page and a few of my publications almost always does.